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expected you to take him up on that,"
    Xik said. "He seems to be offering an honest
    friendship."
    "I’m the type with a thousand
    acquaintances."
    "Are you sure you aren’t just a
    misanthrope?"
    "Out of the crooked timber of humanity,
    no straight thing was ever made," Daniel
    quoted. He glanced at the alien frog. "I don’t
    necessarily dislike people. I just hate high
    school."
    "Wise beyond your years? An old soul,
    perhaps?"
    "Whatever."
    "Do you think yourself better than your
    upbringing?"
    "Correct me if I’m wrong here, since
    you seem to know so much about the human
    race," Daniel said, "but it’s pretty common to expect the bare minimum from the confines
    of government-funded secondary education."
    "I thought we were talking about the
    students, not the high school itself."
    "We might as well be," Daniel said.
    "Here’s hoping college isn’t as shallow as a
    mud puddle."
    "I see," Xik said. The two small words
    came together like ponderous footsteps, as if
    he suddenly understood some great secret to
    which Daniel wasn’t privy.
    Daniel didn’t pause in his walking, but
    he squinted. "What?"
    "You’re not arrogant. Not terribly.
    You’re just very jaded. It’s a shame, really.
    You’re a ball of potential."
    "Are you here to screw with me for
    kicks, or do you have something to say?"
    "Well, you did certainly show me," Xik
    said. "I won’t underestimate you again."
    "Gee wiz. Now I feel all warm and
    fuzzy."
    "No, it was something!" Xik made his
    awkward frog smile. "I believe the one
    infected with a Vorid spawn lost control of
    his bladder from fear. He won’t be bothering
    you again soon."
    Daniel’s face lit up with the evil grin of
    a jack-o-lantern. "No. He won’t."
    "Did you mean what you said?"
    "What, about killing him?"
    "Indeed."
    "He’s not worth risking murder
    charges."
    Xik put a finger to his lips. "Pragmatic.
    So, have you given any thought to the
    contract?"
    Daniel sighed. He seemed to be doing
    that with increasing frequency. "Upon further
    consideration, the answer is still no."
    "Well, my mother always said I was an
    optimist."
    Xik left Daniel to his thoughts after that.
    His purple-and-red pinstripe suit drifted and
    zipped about the rooftops. He examined the
    brick chimneys and power lines with a sort
    of condescending curiosity.
    Daniel put his hands in his pockets as he
    watched the frog glide about. Assuming he
    hadn’t gone insane, Xik was, apparently, a
    magical alien from another dimension. He
    wondered how strong he was—a magician
    that could do a few tricks, or some kind of
    powerful wizard? For some reason, Daniel
    was leaning toward the latter. As odd as he
    was, Xik exuded that type shameless
    confidence.
    He wasn’t sure if it was wise to feed
    what might be a hallucination, but as far as
    he could perceive, Xik and the Vorid were
    very, very real. That spawn thing looked
    pretty unhealthy, but at the same time, there
    wasn’t anything to say Xik could be trusted.
    Daniel didn’t like the idea of being a pawn
    in a multiversal war. He needed more
    information.
    The internet had to have something. Xik
    hadn’t mentioned how many people already
    had powers, or for how long this had all
    been underway. Even if there was some
    secret war going on, people would see
    things, hear rumors. Other chosen fighters
    might be talking about it themselves. He
    should do a little research. If he really was
    crazy, he wouldn’t find anything.
    Then again, if he was really crazy,
    maybe his imagination would make up stuff
    for him to find.
    A mile and a half from school, Daniel
    reached his house. It was the same cookie-
    cutter version as the rest of them—garage on
    the right side, two windows in front, steeped
    roof. He unlocked the door and kicked his
    shoes off on the wood floor next to the stairs.
    "Yo!"
    "Hey Danny!" Felix’s voice called. His
    brother scampered in from the kitchen,
    waving an envelope in his hands. "Guess
    what came?"
    "…a college?"
    "Yeah,