Biology Notes 1/3/21                                                                                                                    Jacob Zandi

Chorans

      — more species discovered every day (over 800 already!)

      — can harness power of various elements

            ~ 5 so far

            ~ specific to species, not individuals

      — magic? dhyana? connection to elves?? (probably)

      — metamorphosis when stressed/in danger

            ~ also magic??

            ~ some revert, some don’t

            ~ instinct or intelligence?

      — intellect related to abilities? (seems not)

      — abilities maybe connected to dense shakti in Chorus’ atmosphere

As Jacob cautiously raised his head over the barricade of hay bales, his frantic mind raced through everything that was at stake. He knew that if that hadn’t done the trick, then Dylan would never forgive him for the two-minute rest of their lives. But if that makeshift plan actually worked, then this could be the turning point. It would be a scientific breakthrough, and the biological and behavioral implications of such a discovery would change field research forever.

Jacob didn’t know what any of that meant, but Dylan had muttered them under his breath after chewing Jacob out. As terrible as this situation was, the potential implications seemed much too exciting for Dylan to be able to stop his imagination from outrunning his exasperation.

That being said, this was still Jacob’s fault. And it was Jacob’s own harebrained solution that the terrified fifteen-year-old was now banking on.

There really wasn’t any point in just peeking over the hay bale barricade; if he was even remotely visible, it would dive without hesitation and obliterate their last line of defense. Despite that, it gave Jacob the slightest sense of comfort knowing that most of him was not directly exposed to the creature.

And frankly, that little dosage of placebo was the only thing keeping him from a full-on panic attack.

He scanned the grassy area around them, desperately hoping to find nothing out of the ordinary. Their predator may have had the strength to obliterate hay bales with a single dive, but it was light enough to vanish without a sound. That was why visual confirmation was necessary; simply listening for the sound of its retreat would keep them there all day.

“I don’t see it…” Jacob whispered, giving their surroundings a second scan.

“If you’re screwing with me, I will get Serena to end you,” Dylan threatened.

“Why in the world would I lie about that?! If I’m wrong, we’re both gonna need caskets!” Jacob quietly shouted back.

“Alright then. Stand up.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“What’re you so worried about? The coast is clear, isn’t it?”

Jacob pursed his lips. He refused to admit that his knees were still holding him hostage, refusing to straighten no matter what.

“Look, how about we stand at the same time? You can peek your head up just like me and see for yourself… If you’re that worried, that is.”

Dylan glared at him. He slowly rose over the hay bale, muttering under his breath. It was most likely a string of curses should he not have a chance once he was exposed.

“Huh.”

“See? Nothing out there. Toldja it’d work.”

“No, you were telling yourself that it would work, since that ‘solution’ had no scientific basis whatsoever.”

“Well, whatever! The important thing is that it worked and we can go home now.”

The relief that was coursing through Jacob finally convinced his knees to relax. As he stood triumphantly, however, he noticed that Dylan’s face had gone pale.

Before Jacob could ask his friend what had gotten into him, Dylan grabbed Jacob by the shirt and violently jerked him to the side. Despite pulling with all of his might, Dylan was only barely able to throw Jacob off balance. Nonetheless, as Jacob fell away from the hay bale, his vision exploded into yellow and brown. Those colors organized themselves into countless strands.

Jacob reflexively threw his arms over his face, spitting out the hay that infiltrated his mouth. His face scrunched up as a pungent, earthy odor filled the air.

Wait, where is Dylan…?

Unlike Jacob, Dylan wasn’t built for endurance, and he had put all of his strength into trying to move Jacob out of harm’s way. That also meant he didn’t have a chance to protect himself from the explosion!

Jacob’s priorities cleared in an instant, and every thought but one fell away: He had to make sure Dylan was safe.

He moved his arms away from his face and used them to push off of the ground, throwing himself blindly in the direction Dylan was most likely to be. Sure enough, he felt his friend’s ever-present windbreaker and the warmth of its owner underneath. Jacob wrapped his arms around his friend and began to roll away from the chaos. He heard a high-pitched crowing from what was once a proud hay bale, and imagined the infuriated creature trying to locate its prey through the dust cloud it had recklessly kicked up.

Jacob tried to block out the horrifying thought of being exposed to this creature once again, and continued to put all of his strength into getting him and Dylan as far from the threat as possible.

Then, the crowing stopped.

Before Jacob had a chance to question the sudden development, he felt something slash his arm. He released Dylan and rolled to a stop, bringing his hand to the wound. He winced as he ran his fingers along it, but it didn’t seem to be bleeding much.

Jacob looked in the direction he had been rolling. Sure enough, the avian menace had once again leapt into the sky, preparing for another dive. In the position he was in, there was no way he’d be able to dodge the attack in time.

The creature dove at a blinding speed, sinking its beak into its prey’s flesh. But it wasn’t the head it had struck, or even the torso.

Biting back tears as his arm erupted with pain, Jacob curled his free hand into a fist and swung it at the creature with all of his strength. His hammer strike landed cleanly, and he felt the feathery body of his assailant depress before being knocked away like a volleyball. The pain in his arm spiked as the creature’s beak was torn out, and his vision began to blur. But there wasn’t time to cry. Not yet.

As proud as he was of his strength, Jacob knew that his foe was far more durable than that. And from the position he was in, he was barely even able to put in enough force to knock it away.

Sure enough, it was already recovering, though its talons slipped a bit as they bore the weight of the creature. There was a fiery look in its eyes; it was impossible for Jacob to tell if that was excitement or fury.

From the way it leapt at him with talons spread wide, Jacob concluded that the answer was, in fact, both.

— — —

You’re an idiot, and you’ve got brains you can’t do anything with! How do either of you expect to survive outside Icesprout?!”

Somehow, being lectured by a peer who was a full two inches shorter than Jacob only made it more shameful. Then again, to anyone who knew Serena Bergson, that height difference meant nothing.

Dylan shrugged. “Look, I was only in that situation because of this moron’s antics. How is it my fault that I couldn’t get out of somebody else’s—”

“No excuses, Dylan! Especially not bad ones!”

“...nngh.”

“You wanna be a field researcher, don’t you?”

“...nnnngh.”

“Are you telling me you’ll be the type of Fielder who sees someone in danger and just looks the other way?”

“...nnnnnnghhh.”

“Didn’t think so. And what about you? Got anything to say for yourself, Jacob?”

“...”

“... Well?”

“... I’m just gonna be straight here. I was buying time for someone to notice the commotion. On that note, thank you for noticing the commotion.”

Serena covered her face with her palm.

“And what, exactly, would you have done if you were waiting in vain?”

“Well, whoever came across my body… would know I didn’t go down without a fight,” Jacob concluded with a cool grin.

A strange sound escaped Serena’s throat, and she spun around quickly. Jacob looked over at Dylan, who was trying his hardest to keep a straight face.

Jacob sighed.

I thought it was a cool line, anyways…

Still facing away from the boys, Serena cleared her throat.

“A-ny-ways, it’s a good thing I showed up when I did, huh? Y’all better be grateful.”

“Grateful…? I mean, sure, I’m grateful for the good luck of someone being nearby, but it’s not like you did anything particulaaaauggh!” Dylan crumpled to the ground, clutching his calf.

Serena huffed as she lowered her foot to the ground. “I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. Mind speaking up?”

Dylan shook his head slowly, his cry of pain melting into a poorly concealed whine.

“Ah, there you all are! I’ve been looking everywhere ever since Serena bolted off all of a sudden,” a voice called out.

The trio’s faces brightened immediately at the familiar voice, and Dylan even tried standing up before collapsing once more.

Jacob ran past Serena and up to the middle-aged man in a lab coat.

“Doc! Oh man, am I glad to see you! For a second there, I thought we were gonners!”

Dr. Spruce gave a warm, tired smile. “Yes, that must have been quite the experience. It’s a good thing Serena showed up when she did, don’t you agree?”

“Yeah, seriously! Dylan wasn’t going to be any help, that’s for sure.”

“Excuse me? Who’s the reason you didn’t take that thing’s dive head on to begin with?”

“Excuse me? Who’s the one who’s still on the ground after getting kicked by a fourteen-year-old girl?”

“Excu—” Dylan began, but went quiet as he saw Serena calmly walk over to Jacob.

Jacob, who stared at her like a deer in headlights, didn’t see Dr. Spruce back away slowly.

The last thing Jacob remembered was Serena’s forgiving smile.

— — —

Dr. Spruce buried his chin in his hand, leaning into his desk. His eyes were gazing far beyond the confines of his laboratory, tapping into the interconnected world of human knowledge as he tried to make sense of Jacob’s story.

Jacob eyed him expectantly. Even if his plan had ended in abject failure, surely Dr. Spruce of all people could wring some new knowledge out of the incident.

“Hm… And you’re sure it was bluestone?”

“Absolutely. I may not spend every moment in a textbook like you-know-who, but I know my berries.”

“I know you do. But still…”

“I know it sounds weird, and I can’t really say why I even tried it, but… I dunno…”

Dr. Spruce chuckled. “No, no. Don’t misunderstand; I’m not harping on you for doing something thoughtless. Most scientific advancements are born from the seemingly insane. But still, why did bluestone…?”

He sighed, standing up with a grunt.

“Well, sitting here and running in circles won’t solve anything. There are a few things I’d like to look into, so why don’t you head on home? You’ve got a big day tomorrow, don’t you? It’d be a shame if you had to limp your way through it,” he finished with a small grin.

Jacob laughed, glancing down at his calf.

“I still don’t get how someone that skinny can kick that hard,” Jacob said.

This time it was Dr. Spruce’s turn to laugh.

“Don’t confuse power with strength, my boy. What some lack in muscle, they make up for with technique. That, and a bit of anatomical knowledge, of course.”

“You’ve got that right, Doc,” Jacob laughed.

“How’s your arm?”

“Oh yeah, that.” Jacob looked at the bandage that protected his freshly-stitched forearm. “Still stings like a mother. Pain pills are a godsend, but the doc said it wasn’t too deep. Good thing I’m right-handed, huh?”

“Aha. I’ll say. Well, I’m glad to hear you’re doing alright. That was very dangerous, even if it was better than the alternative. A plamakly’s aggressiveness more than makes up for its stature.”

“Yeah… I gotta say, though, I kinda like ’em for that. They know they aren’t the biggest bads around, but they’ve got the spirit to wrestle with the best of ’em! How can you not find that badass?”

Dr. Spruce smiled. “It certainly reminds me of someone. Someone who would do well to spend the day resting up so he can enjoy himself to the fullest tomorrow.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. Fine, I’ll lie in my bed and waste my day away. I’ll see you later, Doc!”

Jacob darted out of the lab. Now that Dr. Spruce was alone, he didn’t bother fighting the bittersweet agony that welled up.

Jacob’s all grown up now, isn’t he? And not a moment too soon.