Delving Deeper

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faron_icon.gif

Scene Title Delving Deeper
Synopsis Faron discovers more facets to his powers, for better or worse.
Date June 13th, 2010

Al's Auto Garage

A small auto-repair shop outside of Buffalo, New York.


Warm summer days always tended to make hard work that much harder. The heat in the garage was unbearable, and noting that the air conditioner was never on, Faron Mathers cursed the impending summer swelter. Currently, he was the only one in the repair shop, taking a little breather before having to work on cars again. Another bite of his sub sandwich didn’t do much to deter his anger, though.

As he ate, Faron recalled something about a customer a good hour ago. She only wanted an oil change, and Ron was happy to oblige, but after she left, he had unwittingly placed his hand on the engine of the car she brought in, having lifted the hood. He almost passed out from…from…well, he didn’t know what it was, but it seemed like his whole mind was running through the engine, analyzing every single detail. It was only for a moment that this occurred, and his boss was running around, so he decided to think nothing of it.

He looked at the car, still in the shop. She wasn’t going to be able to come for another four hours, so the car was here all day. And he was the only one there. Should he…No, no, let these things be. He chided himself as he took a big bite of lettuce and bread. He couldn’t fuel this lust to explore his powers. He might end up like those dangerous men on the streets. He couldn’t do that to his mother after what happened with his adoptive father. He couldn’t.

/…Well…I can at least try. I can try to see what exactly these abilities can do./ Faron slowly stood up, setting his sandwich down on the table. As he walked back to the car, his eyes darted about, looking for any wandering eyes.

As he got closer, images started to fill his head. Images of the engine, of everything about it, every nook and cranny. It was nothing like what he had before, but it was still unnerving. Unconsciously, he grabbed a large piece of paper and grabbed the pen in his pocket, not knowing what exactly he was doing but knowing he would find out soon enough.

He looked at the engine, caked with grime from years of use. That was normal, he knew that. But something else kind of stuck out. He couldn’t quite place it, as his hand moved a bit closer. He set the paper and pen on a chair nearby, not wanting them to move far away. He wanted to document his experience through this, he wanted to see what was—

His hand touched the engine and suddenly, everything went in hyper speed. Images, so detailed, so distinct, so perfect. He was exploring the pipes of the engine, the pistons, the wires…everything, anything, it was all like a book for him to read, and he was reading it, all at once. His head spun with everything that the engine was practically screaming to him now. He felt his other hand grab the pen and start scrambling, but he couldn’t be bothered with that.

His thoughts raced, not even having time to sink in before the next wave of urgency flowed into his head. The oil. Yes, the oil was low and bad. That was a given, he already knew that, that was—…the radiator fluid? What was—Oh, it’s bad, it’s filled with grime and—write that down, write that down. The piston, what’s wrong with—Oh, that crack, that could end with problems. And…no, what’s that, that’s…clogs, there’s clogs. Who would let this fall into this much disrepair? Write it down, write it down.

His eyes closed in pain from everything, yet he wanted more, craved more. This feeling of being so intimately knowing of this engine, knowing every part like the back of his hand…it was incredible, just all this information.

His hand very suddenly parted with the engine, the pain and want suddenly disappearing completely. He stumbled backwards a bit, catching himself in a double step. He noticed his hand was holding the pen. Then he noticed the paper. And it was a thing of beauty. In a matter of minutes, he had create a perfect duplicate of the engine in a blueprint, noting every discrepancy. The clogs were noted, the cracked piston, the fluids…everything, all the information available to him right there in front of him.

Faron grew sick. What the hell was this? What was going on here? What possessed him to create this blueprint, to see the things he saw? What was he? Quickly, he grabbed the paper folding it hastily into his pocket as he made for the bathroom. He fell to his knees and curled over the toilet as what he ate of his sandwich found its way into the bowl. His whole body seemed to heave for minutes on end. And, just as suddenly as it came, the sickness disappeared.

“…Ron? You okay?” Oh shit. Ron’s boss was back. And he had heard him vomiting. Ron gave a disheartened moan, to which Al, the owner came over to pat him on his back. “Must’ve been some bad meat, huh kid? Tell you what, go back home and get some rest, you’ve put in a lot of time this week.” Faron shook his head, though he knew Al wouldn’t take no for an answer. Slowly, he got up, weak in his knees.

“Al? Don’t call Maddy and tell her I’m sick. That’s the last thing she needs to worry about.” The man grinned and patted Faron’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, kid, just get home safe and sound. There’s only two oil changes left to do, those are easy.” Ron gave a small smile before he made his way to his car. He slipped into the tight vehicle, gripping the steering wheel and rather suddenly felt another rush of energy. He shuddered in agony, trying intensely to fight the feeling of throwing up once more.

The energy of the moment died off in a moment and he sat in his car, his head still spinning. He turned his car on as he tried to breathe slowly to keep his mind in a good spot. He made his way onto the road, and started a very long 5 minute drive home. He passed a clearing and recalled the paper in his pocket. He pulled over for a second and fished out the blueprint. He stared at it for a long moment, marveling at the detail. He could make this, he already saw it in his head. All he needed was—

The sound of crumpling paper threw off his thought processes. /I’m ending this, now. / He threw the ball of paper out of the window and noted the quickly darkening skies. It’ll be rain soon. Good. The car turned on once more with a loud hum as Ron pushed his car back onto the road. He had enough of this. He wanted this to end, he didn’t want another hitch in his life. If only things could go back the way they were before any of this happened. How desperately he wanted that…


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