Finals: The Dolbin School Book 4--Chapter 6--Researching The Dark Cloud

 Finals: The Dolbin School Book 4

I am serializing my next book here first before it is available anywhere else.  It is still in the formatting stage at the moment.  I have serialized the other three books here on Steemit in the past year.  Here are the first chapters from where I serialized each book.

Dolbin School for the Extraordinary

The Dark Cloud Rises

The Return of the Professor

You can click here to see them on Amazon.

Hope you follow along!  Click here for Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5

Chapter 6 Researching The Dark Cloud

The doors slid open silently as Jake followed Rebecca into the Dolbin building.  

“There are a lot more things you could be researching other than my paper,” said Rebecca, she deftly moved up the stairs to the library.  She did not have the patience to wait for the elevator.  She pushed the door open to the library.  The library was warm and bright, as the spring sun poured in through the massive windows.

“There are a few other items you need to look for in the library, other than my own paper.”  She walked fast, Jake did his best to keep up with her.  She moved through the shelves of books as if she had put up the shelves herself.  She weaved in and out of the maze of shelves.  Jake suddenly realized that he had never been to this part of the library.  She stopped.  The shelves were closer together, the books looked older, dustier.  Jake ran his fingers over the old leather bound books.  He pulled one from the shelf.  Humans with Amazing Gifts in gold lettering stretched across the top of the spine.  He rubbed the lettering.

“That’s one of the first books to describe Extras,” Rebecca was looking through the books, she didn’t look at Jake.  “They just didn’t call them extras at that time.  Only a few copies were made of that book, people thought it was joke, so it only sold a few copies.  We have all the remaining copies.”  Jake looked back at the shelf and saw tow other copies of the book.  Each bound in brown leather with gold lettering on the spine.  He opened the book, the book smelled of dust and old glue.  Jake noted the author, Janus Witherspoon.

“Who was this?’ Jake asked. 

“Witherspoon?  He was someone who noticed extras early in the 20th century, but unlike Dolbin, he didn’t follow them scientifically, he just collected stories of people.  He apparently may have seen one or two examples of Extras, but he would only record their stories.  But most people at the time did not believe his stories.”

“I don’t think most people would believe these stories now,” Jake said, he flipped through the book.  He remembered fighting Brad in the cafeteria at Kane Elementary School.  The students in the cafeteria couldn’t believe they just saw him throw Brad through the window.  The look of the other students staring at him appeared in his mind.  He put the book back on the shelf.

Rebecca pulled a book from the shelf, “Here it is.  This one book you need to use for your paper.”  Rebecca held the small book, it ha black soft leather cover, and the pages were dog eared. “This is the journal of Adonias Tolkin.  He was a professor here at Dolbin in the early days.  He was a professor of math and engineering.”  She flipped through the journal.  “Most of this journal is math equations.  But occasionally there are some descriptions of happenings here at school.  He describes another professor, Professor Cronus, who was dismissed for getting angry at the school board for not allowing students to show their talents outside of school.  He apparently got so angry that he torched a classroom.”

“What do you mean he torched a classroom?” Jake asked. 

“I mean he lit the room on fire with the touch of his hands.”  She pushed her fingers together, “Just like with fire-resistant extras, there are fire-enabling extras.  Their skin gets super hot and they are able to to get to a temperature that would allow them to burn wood, paper, clothing.”

“I’ve never heard of a fire-enabled Extra,” Jake replied.

“It’s a rare gift.  There is only one student currently at Dolbin with that ability.  There are a lot more students with the fire resistant ability.”

“That sounds like it could be a very scary gift,” said Jake.

Rebecca paused, “No different than being able to lift cars above your head, run faster than a hundred miles per hour, or throw people through windows.”

“Point taken,” Jake replied.

“Adonias notes that Professor Cronus held several secret meetings with interested students.  Students that believe that their gifts entitled them to be able to rule over Basics.”  She handed him the journal.  She pulled another book off the shelf.  “You’ll want to read the journal of Principal Hollisworth.  She was the principal before Principal Glover.  She mentions a few incidents of students wanting to break the rule and use their abilities out in the open.”  Jake looked at the large book.

“This is a large book, I am supposed to use this whole book, and only take a few pieces of information from it?”

Rebecca patted him on the shoulder, “Yup.  It’s called a research paper.  Not a an easy paper I can do in an afternoon.”  She leaned in close to Jake.  “Plus, I don’t really care about your little paper.  Don’t you realize what I am doing?”

Jake shook his head, “You’re not helping me with my paper?”

“No, I’m trying to tell you that the Dark Cloud exists.  You’re not the only one who believes it.  And you and I are going to prove that it exists.”  She walked past Jake down the isle of books, “Follow me.”  Rebecca led Jake to the check-out counter, he checked out the two books.  Rebecca walked out the main library doors outside into the warm spring air.  

“Where are we going?” Jake asked.

“To my dorm room, I am going to show you more evidence.”  

Jake’s cheeks flushed, and his stomach clinched.  He had never been to a girls dorm, and certainly had never thought his first time would be to a senior girls dorm room.  

Rebecca walked through the Quad, ignoring the other students that threw Frisbees, baseballs, and Dolbin balls around.  She opened the door to Wilmington dorm.  Jake followed.  Wilmington was on the opposite side of the grass court from Jake’s dorm, Craven Hall, but he had never been it before.

The entrance way was covered in mahogany wood.  Painted portraits hung on the walls.  A stair was in the middle of the hallway.  It forked to the right and to the left.  

“My dorm doesn’t look like this,” said Jake 

“Do you like it?” Rebecca replied.

“It does look nicer than ours.  Why is that?”

“That’s because you’re a fourth grader, and I’m a senior,” said Rebecca.

“That doesn’t sound fair,” Jake whined.

“It is perfectly fair,”  she stated matter-of-factly.  She walked quickly up the stairwell.  She took a deep breath and looked back at Jake, “You’ll understand in 8 years when you are senior.”  She took the right fork in the stairs and headed for her hall.  Jake tried to keep up.  She walked into her hall.  The hallway was shaped in an arch.  Rebecca turned to the second room on the left 214 her dorm room, and she opened the door.  There was one desk and one bed.  

“Do you have a roommate?” Jake asked.

“No,” she responded.  “Sometimes as a senior you can have a room to yourself.”  She grabbed a large file off her shelf.  It was thick with papers.  She unwrapped the string that held the file together.  She flipped open the file.  “This is the paperwork that proves that The Dark Cloud exists, and that it is here at Dolbin.  I even have names.”

Jake looked at the file, he just stared at it.  Then looked at Rebecca.  “Why haven’t you shown this to Principal Glover?”

“Because I am being watched.”

“What do you mean being watched?” Jake replied.

“I think there are more hidden Dark Cloud sympathizers then we realize.”  Jake shuddered at the thought.

“You just do this by yourself?” Jake asked.

“A lot of it, yes.  But over the years as I researched, I learned who can be trusted.  Professor Powers is one he is my Independent Study teacher as well,” she made a gesture signaling the connection they shared.  “Professor Guinness can be trusted, and so can Dr. Fisher.  But, I don’t recommend interacting with her much on this topic, since she is high up.  It will be noticed that you are communicating with  her.”

“Who should we avoid?”

She looked at him firmly, “O’Grady, obviously.”