Ezra got up from his table and headed in the hall pretending to go to the bathroom. Instead, he ran down the linoleum hallways and ducked his head as he ran out the door. It was unlikely he wouldn't get caught at some point, but he wanted to be cautious anyways.
No one was in the parking lot, but a procession of guards was marching this way. He wasn't sure if he could avoid getting seen by them, but maybe they wouldn't notice a boy walking past. He wasn't acting like a criminal. However, as the procession marched by, a single guard left it's position and walked up to him. It didn't speak, but gestured at Ezra expectantly.
"What? Me?" Said Ezra, trying to be as surprised as possible.
The guard nodded.
"I'm just stopping here... as I pass by on... my afternoon jog."
The guard shook it's head and pointed behind him. Ezra turned and looked at what it was pointing at. A stray husky dog was nearby, just panting as it lay on the pavement.
"No, that's not my dog."
The guard leaned in close, too close for comfort. It pointed to a small engraving on the side of it's helm. It was a shield with four letters on it: GCPS. Once again, the guard pointed to the dog.
"I don't get it. What does the dog have to do with this?"
The guard walked up to the dog, who stood up wagging it's tail.
Suddenly, a much too familiar voice rang out, "Hey! Get away from her!"
It was Tori, who looked perfectly not sick and brandishing a flaming stick. She ran up to the guard and waved the stick around until it backed off and actually ran away like a scared animal.
"They don't like fire."
"Huh?" Ezra said, not really paying attention.
"The squad. They hate fire. They think it's going to burn their fur." Tori stated in a concise manner.
"They have fur?" Said Ezra, quite surprised, "Hey, I thought you were sick."
"Nah. I hate to leave Katherine by her self, but she wanted to go out." Said Tori, pointing at the dog.
"She? Is that your dog? Did you take a day off to walk your dog?"
"She isn't my dog. She's my mother."
"Your mother is a dog?"
"No. Of course she isn't. Don't be silly!" Tori gave a little laugh.
"Well," Said Ezra, "she looks an awful much like a dog."
"I like to keep her inside. Whenever we go out, the squad tries to take her. They want to make fun of her and kill her. Ask Art about it. He knows."
This was another side of Tori. Some sort of insane side that thought guards were trying to make fun of her dog and that her dog was her mother. Ezra briefly thought maybe she had gone through something traumatic.
"She is not like her. But she must be. It is always her. My contact mission fails again. We will never meet again."
A voice. It was the stressed woman again. It was even closer then the other voice had been. Suddenly, a crazy idea floated into Ezra's mind. A jigsaw piece seemed to slide into place.
"Tori," Ezra said, "What do you know about the IG?"
"Is that it? You too? Well, I can tell one thing I do know. My mother was in it."
"You mean the do- your mother was? What does IG even stand for?" Asked Ezra, studying the dog in new light.
"Ask mom."
It was a simple question. Ezra had a dazed feeling, like he what was going to happen next. The voice. Somehow, the voice was the dog.
"What does IG stand for?" He said, as serious as possible as he stared at the husky.
"You want to know? She knows. You asked her. We know. You asked us. And we shall tell you."
It was the woman's voice. The stressed one. And it definitely was coming from the dog. The husky was just sitting and looking at Ezra, but the dog was certainly the source.
"We are the IG. Us. We have six members, of course. I am the youngest. No, the oldest. No, Maybe in the middle. I am Asterisk. I am a dog. Actually, a wolf. I'm more of a cat person myself. We at the IG did what we do best. I built The Hub. And that ungrateful Kyro took it. You see this collar?"
Asterisk scratched at an ornate collar around her neck. So far, she hadn't answered any questions yet. She did confirm that the voices were the IG, but nothing else. She went off on her own thoughts too much.
"This collar is an inhibitor. A power eater. A prison. I can't take it off. It's been on my neck for twenty years now. It can break, but that wouldn't break the curse. It would just keep me in this form forever. Us at the IG are immortal, but twenty years as a common dog really does something to your nerves. All of us are trapped. We at the IG... wait, I forgot to tell you. The IG is... well, the G stands for gods. We are all gods."
Gods? That was unexpected. Ezra had grown up in a non-religious family, though he knew of a few religions. Some of them had one god, but Asterisk said their was seven of them. Greek and roman myths had tons of gods, much more then just seven. Really, he couldn't think of what religion they might be from. Maybe one of the less known ones.
"Hey, that was all interesting and stuff, but it's time for you to get out of our faces. I got to go back home before the squad comes back." Tori said, before whistling for Asterisk and walking away.
Ezra was now left alone, to his thoughts. His mind was racing with what Asterisk had told him. Seven gods, trapped. It was something that made him wonder. He might be one of the only people who knew about them, and could hear them. He might be able to save them, somehow. It was an exciting thought to him, and something he thought of as he walked around The Hub waiting for school to end.
No one was in the parking lot, but a procession of guards was marching this way. He wasn't sure if he could avoid getting seen by them, but maybe they wouldn't notice a boy walking past. He wasn't acting like a criminal. However, as the procession marched by, a single guard left it's position and walked up to him. It didn't speak, but gestured at Ezra expectantly.
"What? Me?" Said Ezra, trying to be as surprised as possible.
The guard nodded.
"I'm just stopping here... as I pass by on... my afternoon jog."
The guard shook it's head and pointed behind him. Ezra turned and looked at what it was pointing at. A stray husky dog was nearby, just panting as it lay on the pavement.
"No, that's not my dog."
The guard leaned in close, too close for comfort. It pointed to a small engraving on the side of it's helm. It was a shield with four letters on it: GCPS. Once again, the guard pointed to the dog.
"I don't get it. What does the dog have to do with this?"
The guard walked up to the dog, who stood up wagging it's tail.
Suddenly, a much too familiar voice rang out, "Hey! Get away from her!"
It was Tori, who looked perfectly not sick and brandishing a flaming stick. She ran up to the guard and waved the stick around until it backed off and actually ran away like a scared animal.
"They don't like fire."
"Huh?" Ezra said, not really paying attention.
"The squad. They hate fire. They think it's going to burn their fur." Tori stated in a concise manner.
"They have fur?" Said Ezra, quite surprised, "Hey, I thought you were sick."
"Nah. I hate to leave Katherine by her self, but she wanted to go out." Said Tori, pointing at the dog.
"She? Is that your dog? Did you take a day off to walk your dog?"
"She isn't my dog. She's my mother."
"Your mother is a dog?"
"No. Of course she isn't. Don't be silly!" Tori gave a little laugh.
"Well," Said Ezra, "she looks an awful much like a dog."
"I like to keep her inside. Whenever we go out, the squad tries to take her. They want to make fun of her and kill her. Ask Art about it. He knows."
This was another side of Tori. Some sort of insane side that thought guards were trying to make fun of her dog and that her dog was her mother. Ezra briefly thought maybe she had gone through something traumatic.
"She is not like her. But she must be. It is always her. My contact mission fails again. We will never meet again."
A voice. It was the stressed woman again. It was even closer then the other voice had been. Suddenly, a crazy idea floated into Ezra's mind. A jigsaw piece seemed to slide into place.
"Tori," Ezra said, "What do you know about the IG?"
"Is that it? You too? Well, I can tell one thing I do know. My mother was in it."
"You mean the do- your mother was? What does IG even stand for?" Asked Ezra, studying the dog in new light.
"Ask mom."
It was a simple question. Ezra had a dazed feeling, like he what was going to happen next. The voice. Somehow, the voice was the dog.
"What does IG stand for?" He said, as serious as possible as he stared at the husky.
"You want to know? She knows. You asked her. We know. You asked us. And we shall tell you."
It was the woman's voice. The stressed one. And it definitely was coming from the dog. The husky was just sitting and looking at Ezra, but the dog was certainly the source.
"We are the IG. Us. We have six members, of course. I am the youngest. No, the oldest. No, Maybe in the middle. I am Asterisk. I am a dog. Actually, a wolf. I'm more of a cat person myself. We at the IG did what we do best. I built The Hub. And that ungrateful Kyro took it. You see this collar?"
Asterisk scratched at an ornate collar around her neck. So far, she hadn't answered any questions yet. She did confirm that the voices were the IG, but nothing else. She went off on her own thoughts too much.
"This collar is an inhibitor. A power eater. A prison. I can't take it off. It's been on my neck for twenty years now. It can break, but that wouldn't break the curse. It would just keep me in this form forever. Us at the IG are immortal, but twenty years as a common dog really does something to your nerves. All of us are trapped. We at the IG... wait, I forgot to tell you. The IG is... well, the G stands for gods. We are all gods."
Gods? That was unexpected. Ezra had grown up in a non-religious family, though he knew of a few religions. Some of them had one god, but Asterisk said their was seven of them. Greek and roman myths had tons of gods, much more then just seven. Really, he couldn't think of what religion they might be from. Maybe one of the less known ones.
"Hey, that was all interesting and stuff, but it's time for you to get out of our faces. I got to go back home before the squad comes back." Tori said, before whistling for Asterisk and walking away.
Ezra was now left alone, to his thoughts. His mind was racing with what Asterisk had told him. Seven gods, trapped. It was something that made him wonder. He might be one of the only people who knew about them, and could hear them. He might be able to save them, somehow. It was an exciting thought to him, and something he thought of as he walked around The Hub waiting for school to end.
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