When the Sun Goes Down--Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Logan watched as the shock in Tyler's expression was replaced with barely tamed panic as the young boy stood and backed away from him, eyes wide and glazed with terror. He backed up until he hit the wall, and even then he tried to become one with it. Logan watched and said nothing as he, too, rose to his feet and brought a hand up to rub at his aching head. "Ow. That's gonna leave a mark." Indeed, there was already a large, swelling, black and blue bruise forming on his forehead. The blood was pretty much dried by now, but it was still annoying him and he wished to get it off as soon as possible. "Look, kid--"

"No," Tyler stuttered. "No, I'm not a...I can't be, I...no."

"I'm sorry, I'm sure this is a shock, but it's true. You think I threw a book at myself? I don't think so. That was all you. You were having a nightmare, thought I was a threat when I tried to wake you up, and since you can't control your powers, you attacked me, albeit unknowingly. Thus, I was on the floor and now I have a killer headache. Remind me never to do that again. Next time you can just stay in your dream." He snorted.

Tyler stared at him with a pitiful, helpless expression. "But I wouldn't...I'd never do...I couldn't have--"

"Well, you did," Logan cut in. "Now, if you'll shut up for a minute and listen, I can help."

Tyler said nothing, but his expression turned guarded. Logan let out a long sigh and moved toward the door. Tyler stayed at the wall, watching his every move with a weary look in his eyes.

"You might want to sit down, and I, for one, can't stand up any longer," Logan said as he prodded his tender head. "I need...four aspirin, a cup of coffee, and...ice cream."

Tyler paused. "Ice cream?" he questioned cautiously.

Logan smiled. "Of course. Ice cream is the cure for all my ails, boy. Now, if you would please, join me in the kitchen and I will explain everything to you, if you're willing to listen."

"And if I'm not?" Tyler asked before he could stop himself. Logan narrowed his eyes at him for a long moment, studying him, before he shrugged.

"You know where the door is. Don't let it hit you on the way out." He turned to leave the room, and made his way slowly down the stairs, trying to stop the world from spinning, though that was a tough task when the world seemed to twirl when his eyes were closed. He entered the kitchen, poured himself a cup of coffee, grabbed some aspirin, swallowed them, and plopped down at the kitchen table. 'Three, two, one...' he thought.

Tyler nervously entered the room, looking cautious and confused. Logan felt a stab of pity deep within him, but he shoved it aside as he gestured at the seat next to him. Tyler slowly sat down and glared at the table for a long moment. Logan shrugged inwardly and slurped at his coffee as he stared at the far wall, thoughts plaguing his mind. Tyler was a wizard. A young, out of control wizard, but a wizard nonetheless. This sucked. Things were definitely going to change, and that was what he was dreading. He wasn't ready for this, he wasn't.

As a wizard, he had a few options. He had been the one to find the poor kid and save him, he'd discovered his abilities, he'd housed him...that pretty much left him entitled to train the child, that basically left him as a mentor now. He could either take on the responsibility, or run from it and dump the kid off in the middle of nowhere, or maybe at some other wizard's house and let them deal with him. But now, he couldn't do that, and he knew it. If he did, Tyler already knew his name. If Tyler was as powerful as his powers suggested, then he knew that he'd have to be there to tell the wizard what they were dealing with, if he decided to drop the kid off somewhere.

One thing was certain: he couldn't just leave the kid somewhere alone. Something could happen, and he wasn't going to be responsible for the boy's death after having just saved him. He was many things, but he wasn't a murderer. He wasn't going to leave the kid for dead. Though he wasn't ready for this, he couldn't see much of a choice in the matter. He wouldn't be getting rid of Tyler anytime soon, if he took on this challenge. Students struck a bond with their mentors and wound up dependent on them for a while. Students and their teachers never really ever left each other, until they were fully trained.

'With the exception of me,' Logan thought with a bitter scowl. Tyler happened to look up just at that moment, notice the scowl, and look away quickly. Logan sighed. "Okay kid," he murmured, gripping his cup so tightly that his knuckles immediately went white. Steam rose from his coffee as he willed it to heat up. He liked his coffee hot, not cold. "You're a wizard. No, don't argue. Just listen. You're a wizard, a young one, whether you like it or not. I know you don't like it, but that's just tough. You see, you attacked me. I know you didn't mean to, but don't you get it? You're not in control. You're dangerous. You could really hurt someone, even yourself, whether it's intentional or not.

"I know you're not a bad person, Tyler, and that's why I'm going to help you. I'll train you, if you want me to. If you don't, I'll take you to someone who can, simple as that. But you need the training, otherwise...look, you just need it. Now. What's it going to be?" he mumbled, glaring down at the table as if it were the most hated thing in the world. He so wasn't ready for this challenge.

Tyler remained silent for a long while. The ticking of the clock on the wall was the only sound that filled the room, except for the humming of the refrigerator. Logan watched the kid intently, leaving no room for escape. Tyler shifted uneasily in his seat, uncomfortable at being watched so closely, but Logan wasn't going to back off. Tyler finally looked up, opened his mouth to speak, then hurriedly shut it again. He licked his lips, a pensive expression on his face, and then spoke in a quiet whisper: "What...what does this training call for?"

Logan leaned back in his chair, not once breaking eye contact. "We'll see," he said softly, trying to sound calm and collected. "It's different for everyone, kid. We'll have to see what your strengths and weaknesses are, and then go from there. Are you up to it?"

"...If...If I don't, will I..." He swallowed and looked away. "Will I hurt someone?"

Logan frowned and thought that over. "Hard to say. Maybe. Probably. You can't control it, Tyler. You can't just ignore this, it's not going to just go away."

Tyler swallowed thickly and slowly nodded his head. "Yeah...okay." He took in a shaky breath, and then raised his head. Logan flinched. The boy's eyes were trusting and helpless and scared, and he just hated that look so much. "Okay. I'll do it."

Logan let out a breath. "Okay. Good." He looked at the clock. "Look, it's been a long night, and I, for one, have a killer friggin' headache and I need to lie down. I say we catch some sleep and pick this up in the morning, okay? Are you sure you don't need to call anyone?"

Tyler went rigid. "I'm sure," he said stiffly.

Logan sighed. "Alright then. Whatever. Night, kid." He left the room, leaving Tyler alone at the kitchen table. As he made his way to the stairs, he felt something cold deep within, and froze suddenly, his head immediately swivling toward the front door. The lights outside flickered on and off, before they finally decided to stay on. Logan narrowed his eyes and strode toward the door, before he gripped the handle tightly and closed his eyes, muttered an incantation under his breath. He made sure the door was locked, and then he looked toward the kitchen, where Tyler was just getting up.

"...Something wrong?" the boy asked, noticing something in Logan's expression, though it was shaded by the shadows of the dark room.

"No," Logan mumbled. "Everything's fine. Why don't you go on up and go to sleep?"

Tyler paused. "Okay. Um. Thanks again, for uh...telling me, and...and saving me and letting me stay...thanks."

"Uh, yeah, sure, don't mention it," he murmured, not liking the show of gratitude. Tyler gave a brief nod, stood there for a moment longer, and then went up the stairs. Logan watched him go, and then looked back toward the front door. "I can't believe I'm doing this at this freakin' hour of the night," he muttered to himself as he went to the closet and grabbed his jacket. He slipped a pair of old sneakers on, shrugged to himself, and went out the door. The street lights flickered. Black smoke twirled in the distance. Logan watched it, gave a weary sigh, and walked off of the porch, a hooded expression on his face.

The street lights went out. He was left in darkness as the whole block had a power outage.

"Son of a--"
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Tyler looked up as something gripped his heart. It was cold, freezing really, and he dreaded what it meant. What was going on? He felt he should inspect what was going on, but as his head touched the pillow, his eyelids suddenly became overly too heavy, and try as he might to fight sleep, he couldn't stop the Sandman from taking him to lala land.