Chapter Eight #2
I looked out the window, searching for a hint of darkness to appear. We needed its safety to go on our way. As we waited, Ana and Jay went to pick up some burgers, and Kevin practiced using his powers. He sent sparks of electricity flowing between his hands and the outlet. No teleportation, though.
“What do you think is holding you back?” I asked, turning my attention back to him.
“I don’t know.”
“Well, someone told me once that I had to get out of my head and that meditation can help.”
He smiled. “That sounds like a really advanced, intelligent being, doesn’t it?”
“Hmm, someone kinda smart. Not fully there, but close enough.”
“I’ll take it.” He grabbed my hand and put it on his chest. “Wanna try to amplify me again?”
The pulse in my veins was starting to increase just as the door opened and the smell of food hit me. My belly gave a loud rumble, and I pulled my hand away as heat spread across my cheeks and ears.
Kevin had a way of making me turn from a pale girl into a giant tomato in an instant. What was I going to do about it? Find food every time it happened? Hmm . . . that’s actually not a bad plan.
I went from standing with him on a mountain of feelings to my stomach screaming bloody murder, begging to be fed.
It wasn’t pretty, but it was an honest reaction.
Apparently, Dr. Ryder didn’t lie. Hunger truly was a side effect of the powers running through our veins.
Now I wondered if my love for food was because it was so good or because I was constantly craving it.
Despite arriving near the address Antonio had left, we held off from knocking on their door, as it was already too late. At the gas station, before getting there, the guys saw my face on the news. So we found a deserted piece of land to park and stay the night.
It felt like they had a constant string of “Breaking News” segments casting me out to the world, every hour on the hour. “They sure are going through a lot of trouble trying to find me, no? Is that normal?”
Kevin shook his head. “Not really. Not like this. We’ll keep you out of view as much as possible. Don’t worry.”
“Yep,” Jay agreed. “Now, let’s see what you can do. Hook up my dude here with the best you’ve got.”
“Actually, he needs to go over there and practice his meditation before I bless him with my gifts.”
Kevin laughed. “Well, if that’s what you’re promising, I am going to be a good boy and breathe away.”
I turned to Anali. “Can I try to do anything for you, with my amplifying?”
Her eyes widened. “Oh, I don’t know. I’d rather you practice on your own so you can get the hang of it. I saw what you did to the sky by Annie’s house. I’m actually a little scared.”
That took me aback. I was used to the group being game for training and letting me use my powers on them.
This was the first time I realized even someone I considered a friend could be scared of me and what I could do.
It made me question if the FBI really was wrong in wanting to catch me and lock me up.
“You can practice on me,” Jay said.
“I don’t want to cause you to lose Nick’s powers.”
“I won’t. I can control it.”
“But what if I can’t?” I turned and left. I wanted to go brood somewhere away from them.
“I got it,” Kevin said.
I heard his footsteps behind me. I was so shaken, I just turned and buried my head in his chest. I guess I didn’t want to be alone after all.
His arms were the only place I wanted to be.
“After making peace with everything, I hadn’t considered that I could actually, truly, be dangerous.
I don’t feel evil. But she’s scared of me and I just . . . I don’t know.”
He rubbed the back of my neck. “You’re a sensor. Do you think you’re dangerous?”
“Well, I can’t be sure sensing myself would work objectively.”
“No. Probably not. We all rationalize our actions and feelings. But I think . . . I hope you can trust what you sense as far as who I am as a person. Who Nick and Annie are. Who Jenny, Beth, and Andrew are.”
“Yes. You’re light. All of you.” I sighed. “In this nightmare, you’re the brightness I need to keep my hope going.”
“Okay. So trust us. Let us carry the doubt for you. Believe us when we tell you who you are. You, Alexa Ryan, are an amazing, kind-hearted person. And I’d bet my life on the fact that you’d never use your powers for harm.”
I pulled away. Jumping the flimsy rope, with how he made me feel and my uncontrollable powers reacting to him, was still risky. Even if I’d been handling it a lot better lately, I was still nervous. “Weren’t we enemies at one point? Would you have said that then?”
“Absolutely. Even then, I knew you’d have never used your powers for bad.”
“Maybe I’m the one who needs to meditate after all,” I said.
“We both need it. But before we do that, I’m hoping this can cheer you up. I bought it during our last stop.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small item.
I smiled as soon as I saw it. I genuinely didn’t know why, but I absolutely loved it. “A pocketknife!” I lifted it in the air and studied the adorableness of it.
“Yes, it’s a Swiss Army knife. It’s small so you can put it on your key chain.” He showed me the ring at the end. “And works well enough in an emergency.”
I suddenly felt better, so much so that I didn’t even mention I had no keys or key chain to put it on. “Thank you. I don’t know why a knife makes me feel better when I’m questioning how dangerous I could be, but it makes my little heart happy.”
He smiled. “I hoped it would. Come on, let’s meditate together.”
I wasn’t sure how long we sat facing each other trying to be Zen, but Anali came running and startled me so badly that I felt a surge explode from my chest. The blast knocked Kevin back a few feet.
He stood, rubbing his behind. “I’ll really appreciate it if you’d stop doing that to me.”
“Sorry,” I said, turning to Ana. “What happened?”
“Umm, now I feel bad. Sorry. There was a big snake.” She stood behind me.
Like I could protect her against the snake? I pushed Kevin forward, and we took a few steps back, tiptoeing as we went.
“Guys!” Jay met us, grinning. “Forget the snake. Check out my dude here.”
I followed his gaze to Kevin’s chest. There was a storm of blue and white light dancing around his torso, contrasting with each other. And his eyes? Wow. “Is that lightning?”
“It’s his electricity,” Jay said.
Kevin’s eyes were lit in a blue fire as he smiled. Then he was gone.
It had been at least fifteen minutes since he’d teleported, and we couldn’t find him. “Oh my God, what did I do to him?”
Jay truly didn’t seem to care. “Alexa, breathe. He’s fine.”
“You don’t know that! What if I sent him into space?”
He laughed. “Kevin knows his powers. He’s probably testing it out.”
“Jay?” Anali asked. “What if he was able to teleport somewhere but then got stuck? Like could it have been a glitch, and it’s no longer working again?”
“No . . . I . . . shit! I don’t think so?” Jay paced for a few minutes, thinking. Then shook his head. “No. He would’ve called us.”
“Phones!” I kept forgetting those things existed. I pulled mine from my pocket and called Kevin. It rang five times before going to voicemail. “Okay, that can’t be good. He’s not picking up.”
I barely finished my statement when Kevin reappeared in front of us.
And he wasn’t alone.