The Third Child Chapter One   Chapter Two   Chapter Three  

The sun slowly rose over the mountains of New York, and piercing voice shot through the silence of the morning.

"Gideon! Wake up!"

The boy stirred under the covers of his bed, and slowly rolled out from under them. In just boxers and a t-shirt, he stumbled into the bathroom just outside of his bedroom. He looked into the mirror and saw the usual. A 5'10", shaggy, dark-haired boy, now of eighteen. He stared at his reflection for no more than thirty seconds, and proceeded to begin his morning routine. After splashing some water in his face and getting dressed in his jeans and a clean t-shirt, he headed downstairs for some breakfast.

"Good morning birthday boy!", his mother exclaimed, "How are we feeling?"

"Just great, mom. Another fine morning."

"But it's not just any morning, is it? You're eighteen years-old!"

"Oh joy. So exciting."

Gideon sat down at the rectangular table and began to eat his jelly covered toast. After finishing, he made his way back up the stairs to grab his backpack and gym clothes for the day. He gradually went back down the stairs, and reentered the kitchen. A quick glance at the clock on the microwave was all he needed. Everything was put into speed-mode. He snatched his car keys out of the drawer that housed the phonebook and he was out the door with a quick, "Bye!"

Gideon popped open the door to his sedan, threw his bag into the passenger seat, and jumped in. Turning the key in the ignition, the engine roared to life, and he was on his way. It was the last few weeks of school, but he had to focus on his grades, to keep his college acceptance valid.

Not ten minutes later, Gideon arrived at his high school and parked his car in the usual front spot in the student parking lot. Seconds after putting the shifter into "P", a black Audi four-door pulled in next to Gideon. Out of the car emerged a girl of about 5'5", black hair and green eyes, with the typical "bug-eyed" sunglasses.

"Morning!"

"Good morning Izzy."

"You know, you're the only person that I'll let call me that."

She smiled, kissed him on the cheek, and took his hand. They walked into the school via the side entrance, and headed to their first classes of the day, which coincidentally happened to be physics for the both of them. She suddenly turned to Gideon with a serious look upon her.

"Did you get the review done?!"

"Yeah, I finished it in class yesterday. Why?"

"Shoot, I didn't get the last page finished! Will you help me finish it?"

"Of course, what use would I be if I didn't?"

She giggled and continued walking down the long hallway before them. They passed room after room, and many stairwells before arriving at the science wing. Rooms filled with large lab tables filled the area, and they made a sharp turn into the room at the end of the hall.

A man with pure white hair stood at the front of the room, writing on the whiteboard. He turned to greet the two kids.

"Good morning Mr. Devereaux, Ms. Evans."

The two replied simultaneously, "Good morning Mr. Vincent."

He smiled and returned to his work at the board.
...
Outside of the school, a black town car rolled to a stop, and a skinny, tall, suited man stepped out. He raised a simple cell phone to his ear and pressed the "Send" key.

"We have located the potential target. We will now pursue extraction."

The man closed the door behind him, and walked to the main entrance of the school. He continued on to the main school office, and flashed a government agency badge, and began to converse with the secretary that was present.

"Hello miss, I'm with the Department of Homeland Security, and we have reason to believe that a student here at this school has information about an imminent threat to the country's security. His name is Gideon Devereaux. Please direct me to his location."

She looked quite troubled at this fact, and quickly began typing on the computer in front of her.

"Ah, here he is. He has physics class right now with Mr. Vincent in room S213. Just head down this main hall here, turn right at the end, and head up the stairs right there, and the room should be just there. Just put this visitor badge on, and you'll be fine in the halls."

"Thank you ma'am."

He clipped the badge on his jacket pocket, bowed out of the room, and headed to the location given to him.

Down the hall, turn left, and up the stairs. The secretary's directions were quite accurate, as expected by the man. He came upon the room, and since class was already in session, the doors were all closed. He knocked on the door quite vigorously, and waited for a response.

"Come in.", called an elderly voice.

The man turned the door knob and entered the science room. He took note immediately of every student in the room, instantly recognizing the boy he was looking for.

"If possible, I'd like to speak to Mr. Gideon Devereaux please."

Gideon, who sat in the second row of lab tables turned to his girlfriend next to him and whispered a bit, back and forth.

The elderly man turned to the class and called out the teenager.

"Gideon, if you will..."

He stood up. "Yes sir."

The man took note of how the boy held himself. It was hard to profile him. Was he already awakened, or was he just a normal boy?

The boy exited the room and followed the tall man down the hall, to an empty stairwell. Confused, Gideon wanted to know what was going on.

"Excuse me, but is there something I can help you with?"

"Yes. Are you awakened or not?"

"I'm not sure if I follow you..."

"Do NOT lie to me boy. I have no time for silly games."

"Look, you're the one who wanted to talk to me, don't give me any crap about these so-called games."

The man was infuriated by the youth of today and took the boy and held him by the collar of his shirt.

"Such defiance!"

Suddenly the smell of rain filled the air and the man was pulsing with a brownish light.

"H-hey, let me go! Someone help!"
...
Meanwhile, continuing to teach, the old man at the front of the room was writing out the familiar formula of e=mc2. From outside, faint yells could be heard. Suddenly the class was looking around in fear. The old man turned to the class.

"Everyone, please calm down. I'm sure it's just—"

At that moment, the room was engulfed with the smell of rain.

"Class, please remain in this room, for your safety."

The man grabbed the black cane from behind the desk and made his way out of the room, quicker than the kids in the class had ever seen. He began to run effortlessly down the hall, where the smell was the strongest. Faint pulses of brown light could be seen from around the corner. He immediately knew who he was dealing with. He was none other than Aaron Burr, the very same man who dueled with President Alexander Hamilton in 1804, two-hundred and five years ago.

"Burr!"

From the stairwell, Aaron Burr could hear a man yell his name.

"What's this, an immortal in this location? How?"

He dragged the boy out into the hall to find the elderly man, Mr. Vincent standing, cane in-hand, before him.

"Ha! An old man stands before me? What nonsense."

The elder grinned at Burr.

"You obviously do not recognize who I am Aaron Burr. Allow me to show you."

Like fire, the man began to pulse a red-orange light, and from the cane, he drew a shining sword that reflected each beam of light from his aura around the hallway.

"Impossible! We killed you years ago!"

"Ah, but Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci cannot die that easily! I am the original Renaissance man Mr. Burr. I am the original Jack-of-All-Trades. I excel at all aspects of life, including battle."

With that, the old man charged at Burr with extreme force.

Gideon stood silently, in awe, as the ancient figures of history battled before him. Flashes of red-orange and brownish light flashed in the hallway. He was paralyzed with fear, and wanted it all to be over. Why were they fighting over him?