by L. J. Fox
Gregory tried to engage her in conversation a few times, but she smiled and answered in brief responses and he had the good manners to leave her be.
As the dinner guests were leaving, one of the women, Carmel, wrapped her arms around Layne. She was slightly shorter than Layne and with greying hair that still showed some blonde tones. She looked humble and sad. She looked up into Layne’s eyes as if seeking something.
“I’m Beverley’s sister.”
“So, you are my aunt?” Layne responded. It was the first touch of humanity she had seen. She thought Carmel looked on the verge of tears and she felt a closeness with her.
She agreed to be picked up after the class the next day to meet with Narelle.
Chapter 28
Later that night after being driven back to her accommodation, Layne met with Andy to discuss the latest developments. Andy had spoken with her grandfather, filling him in on the fact that Layne had gone off after class in a black car with two men. Ross had left strict instructions that Layne was to call him as soon as she returned no matter what time it was. Ross said that he and Nina would not sleep until they had heard from her. She knew how worried they would be. She went ahead and made the call, reassuring her grandfather that she was fine and giving him the lowdown on the evening. Andy stayed in the room listening, so she didn’t need to repeat herself after the call.
They all found the whole thing incredulous. A select group of people worldwide, a race of people. Andy worried that she was getting in over her head, but she explained to him that she didn’t feel she had a choice. They were coming after her no matter what. They were the ones with all the power and means to do whatever they liked. What would they do to her if she refused to be part of it? What had they done to her parents? It was better to play along and have all the information before deciding what to do.
She was determined to find out everything she could about the gifts, house, group and plans. She needed to know what they wanted from her and what they expected, how far their reach was and how they were structured. There was not a snowball’s chance in hell that she was going to marry Gregory, or anyone else not of her choosing. She would continue to play the meek and mild innocent while it suited.
The same two men and the black car were waiting for her again after class to take her to the mansion. Again, she walked down the steps and straight into the car. This time Andy knew she was going, but he still watched from the top of the steps, and worried. She had told Amity that she had recently made contact with a long-lost part of her family and was spending some time getting to know them. It was the truth after all.
Narelle was very vibrant and likeable, which Layne found to be a breath of fresh air after the stoic attitude of most of the group. She announced that they would go sit in the garden. That sounded wonderful to Layne. She thought fresh air and change of scenery may help her to place where everything is. They sat at a small outdoor table and chairs beneath a small summer house. It seemed peaceful and relaxing. A woman in a mauve uniform brought them a tray of freshly squeezed orange juice.
Layne was very interested in further developing her gifts as she saw that as a way of potentially escaping, but she did not want Narelle to know exactly how powerful she was. She, herself did not know how powerful she was compared to the others. Perhaps she was relatively weak. She would need to just give her enough to keep the group interested in training her without giving her too much.
“Narelle. Can you tell me about your gifts … I mean powers?”
She thought this would help her to know how much she could get away with, how much she could fake and when she could get caught out. She saw a flash of hesitation on Narelle’s face, so she elaborated.
“I have spent my whole life with normal humans who don’t have powers. I have tried to hide my powers every day which has been really difficult at times, and now all of a sudden, I am surrounded by people with powers, and it seems that everyone has different levels, so I am curious and interested in what type of powers there are, and who has what. What is strong and what is weak? I have no idea at all.”
She felt that was a believable and honest response without giving away all reasons. She looked at Narelle as innocently as she could.
Narelle considered her for a moment and nodded. Reason accepted.
“Well, there are many types and levels. As you have already seen there are people with lower-level powers such as our waiters last night and the chauffers. They have the basics which are a strong sense of smell, hearing, taste, touch and sight. Usually powers are inherited so the lower-level powers come from lower-level families.”
“It sounds like class distinction with the higher-powered people controlling the lower-level people.” Layne added.
Narelle gave a little laugh.
“I guess it is like that. Throughout history, the more powerful people have ruled the less powerful. It is a fact of life. Survival of the fittest, and all that. Your grandfather is very powerful.”
“Is he? Like his daughter?”
“Not as strong as Beverley.” Narelle didn’t elaborate.
Layne found this information interesting. Powers were mostly inherited. If her mother was very powerful and her father was a normal person, then maybe she had weak powers or medium level powers, or did she have the same ability and just did not know how to use it.
“Ok” Narelle clapped her hands. “Let’s get started, shall we?”
“For a start, let me ask you a series of question so I can assess what level you are.”
“Ok”
Narelle had a notepad and pen handy to document answers.
“A normal person approaches you who you have never met. How far away are they before you can sense them?”
“You mean if my eyes were shut?” she asked.
Narelle nodded.
Layne drew in a breath and thought about the answer.
“Maybe ten to twenty metres to smell them and hear their heartbeat.”
Narelle wrote the response. “It might be a good idea if you close your eyes and think hard about each answer.”
Layne closed her eyes.
“Can you tell if this person has an injury or sickness?”
“Yes. Usually.”
“Can you tell if this person is hot or cold?”
“Yes”
“Can you tell what this person is thinking?”
Layne snapped her eyes open. “No.”
“Can you tell what their hygiene is like?”
“Yes, unfortunately.”
“Can you tell when the weather will change?”
“Yes”
“Can you sense a Bray?”
“Yes, but not smell them or hear their heartbeat”
“How can you sense them?”
“I feel a tingle and the hair on the back of my neck stands up.”
“Do you have a photographic memory?”
“Yes”
“Have you ever been injured?”
“Yes. I cut my leg as a child.”
“Have you felt pain?”
“Yes”
“Have you ever been sick, such as vomit, headache, stomach-ache?”
“No”
“Do you heal fast?”
“Yes”
“Can you tell if it is going to rain?”
“Yes”
“Do you feel anything unusual when there is a thunderstorm?”
“Yes. A tingling.”
“Can you hear and sense animals?”
“Yes”
“Do animals like you?”
“Yes”
“Can you feel emotions such as anger, fear, hatred, embarrassment, love and envy?”
“Yes” What a strange question. She guessed some powered people could not feel emotion.
“Are you very strong for a female?”
“Yes”
“Do you have advanced athletic abilities?”
“Yes”
“Can you sense where loved ones are?”
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“I don’t know”
“Can you swim?”
Why on earth would she ask that question? Was this to find weaknesses?
“Yes” though admittedly she had not had much practice.
“Ok. That is enough questions for now. It seems to me that your powers are very strong especially for ... someone .... who is … half-normal. I wonder with training, if you can develop some other aspects.”
“I’m ready.” she announced.
“The best thing for you to do is concentrate on doing a certain task and then put all your focus on it. You have to block out everything around you and totally focus. I imagine you have not tried to use your powers living in your world, but in our world, we try to use them every day. Practice makes perfect. The secret is to learn how to concentrate. I want you to try different things when you are alone. If something doesn’t work after five minutes, turn your attention to something else. It may be that you can’t do anything other than what you already are, and that is ok too.”
“Ok. I will. Sounds good.” Layne answered.
She found she was eager to try, as she felt the more powerful that she was, then the more she could control this situation.
Later that night when she was alone in her room, she lay on the bed and closed her eyes. She focused her mind on the people in her building. Immediately, she could hear Amity moving around in her room and Layne knew she was getting ready for bed. She could hear a few people walking in the hallway, someone in the shower and someone boiling the kettle. These were all things that she had always been able to detect. Try as she did, she couldn’t detect anything new. What sort of thing should she be trying to do? Should she visit a cemetery to see if she could smell dead bodies? It didn’t sound very appealing. Maybe she didn’t have anything extra. Maybe this was all she was.
Chapter 29
The next few weeks passed in a flurry of activity. Layne visited the mansion at least once a week and met with Warren, or one of the Brays, sometimes Narelle. They were interested in knowing how her development was progressing, and she didn’t have much to report to them. In fact, as far as she was concerned there had been no development at all. She had been trying to enhance her senses or sense new things, but nothing seemed any different. She still had to turn off her senses when she was in class or in the canteen, due to the overwhelming smells of so many people around her.
She saw Andy every day in class, for lunch and for study but was trying to keep a distance from him as she was worried what the Brays may do if they saw her relationship with him becoming serious in any way. He understood why it had to remain this way for now but was not happy about it. The listening devices had been removed at Layne’s insistence, but she didn’t spend any time alone with him in his room. She continued the twice daily phone calls to her grandparents. They didn’t want to take any chances with her and wanted to know where she was at all times.
Gregory continued as he had previously, and Layne didn’t find him any less repulsive than she had before she knew he was a Bray. The fact that Gregory was still attending every class at university showed her that the Brays did not trust her and needed to keep a watch on her.
Amity continued her pursuit of Gregory, but Layne could see that the hope was started to fade in her eyes, and it wasn’t long before she was eyeing off other guys from class.
One day when she didn’t have any morning classes, Narelle contacted her and picked her up in a flash red sports car. They arrived after a fun fifteen minute drive at a primary school. This was a privately-run school in a trendy neighbourhood. The large red brick building looked like it may have been a convent in the nineteenth century, and it was surrounded by beautiful gardens and a tall brick fence. Layne imagined that it would cost a fortune to send a child to this school.
Narelle was being secretive about what they were doing at this school, so Layne played along, curious to see where this would lead. They entered the building and turned into a room just down the hallway to the left. She could hear children’s voices as they entered the room. There were approximately twenty children in the room, and they looked to be nine or ten years old. They were all dressed in a uniform of navy and grey and were all seated looking to the teacher at the front of the room. The teacher was a woman of about forty years of age with dark blonde hair up in an up style. She looked up at them as they entered and smiled. She was expecting them.
What struck Layne immediately was that every child in the room was a Bray, as was the teacher. Layne’s mouth dropped open in surprise and she turned to look at Narelle. Narelle laughed at her reaction.
“Yes. This is a dedicated Bray school. You have been through the public schools with normal children. Do you really think a Bray child can learn anything from a normal school?”
Layne had to admit to herself that her education was what she learned elsewhere, and that school had not been a challenge in any way, but something seemed odd about the segregation of these children.
“In this school, the children learn to focus on their powers, and they are not limited or hobbled in any way. They are taught to be leaders and to excel.”
One by one the children had all turned around to face the two of them standing inside the door. Layne looked from one face to another and was surprised to see an arrogance not commonly seen with children, especially children of this age. It looked like they were inspecting her in order to decide if she was up to standard.
The teacher addressed the class.
“Children, you all know Mrs Timms.”
Narelle smiled and nodded.
“You have not met Miss Layne Harrison. She is Mr van der Linde’s granddaughter.”
The children continued to stare at her. Twenty pair of eyes were riveted to her. She felt uneasy at the strange encounter. She didn’t see any of the children smiling or welcoming. They were all beautiful looking children, immaculately groomed and yet, she felt like she was in a room with alien creatures, or a room with children out of the film, Village of the Damned.
One attractive dark blonde girl raised her hand. The teacher signalled to her. “Yes. Ada.”
“My mother is Carmel. You are my cousin.” The voice was very monotone and almost bored.
Layne looked at the young girl in surprise. She had never known of any relatives other than her grandparents. She didn’t see any warmth in the girl or interest, not like her mother Carmel, and how Layne had felt a connection with her. Layne nodded her head and smiled in recognition.
One boy had his hand in the air. The teacher addressed him.
“Yes. Andrew.”
He looked at Layne.
“I heard about you. You grew up and went to school with normal people. I bet that was fun.”
He pulled a face. The other children giggled.
“I bet it was stinky.”
The children broke into laughter. Layne felt relieved that it was the first human type of behaviour she had witnessed, even if it was intended to be rude.
The teacher clapped her hands together.
“Now, now. Manners please.”
The children reluctantly turned back to face the front of the classroom.
“Thanks Mrs Damon.” Narelle called out and they headed back the way they had come.
Layne couldn’t help but feel unnerved about this private school of little arrogant Bray children, thinking they were better than everyone else and will be leaders. It was a creepy feeling.
Narelle then took Layne into Melbourne CBD and they wandered up Swanston Street from the Flinders Street Station. They had walked about two blocks when Narelle suddenly stopped in the middle of the footpath and faced Layne.
“What can you feel?” she asked.
Layne frowned and sought clarification.
“What do you mean? Weather?”
“No. Focus on what you can sense.”
“There are too many people around. All I can sense is the smells from everyone, their heartbeats and the music they are listening to”
She answered, confused at what she was supposed to sense. Narelle took her arm and steered her across to a large bank building.
“Come on. Let’s go in here.”
She led Layne through the glass doors and to some seats against the wall just inside the front entrance. They both sat down. Layne looked around, noting the customer service staff were no longer behind counters or desks. They stood near tall round tables to serve customers. She saw four customer service staff and around ten customers waiting. A few doors indicated where the branch manager or executive staff may have offices.
“Now, close your eyes and tell me what you sense.” Narelle instructed.
Layne closed her eyes and immediately felt prickles at the back of her neck. She opened her eyes in surprise, looking around.
Narelle was smiling.
“Try again.”
Layne closed her eyes and focused on the prickling sensation. This was the same feeling she had when Gregory had been around her at the university. This was the feeling when a Bray was nearby, and she was unaware of it. She focused on where the Bray may be located. When she opened her eyes, Narelle was looking at her expectantly.
“There are two of them in the building. One in the Manager’s office and one is in the kitchen.”
She looked at Narelle, though she didn’t need affirmation. She knew where they were.
“Now, let’s try that out on the street.”
They left the building and found a quiet area to stand against a brick wall.
Layne closed her eyes and focused. This time it was much harder. The sounds and smells were so distracting. Narelle urged her to focus. For the next several minutes, Layne focused and sent out imaginary sensors. She pushed and sensed as far out in a radius as she was able. When she opened her eyes, she knew where every Bray was within a two hundred metre radius.
Chapter 30
As Layne approached class the next morning, there was a flurry of whispering and movement among the students in the foyer. She could immediately sense a nervous energy and turned to work out what was wrong. One of her friends, Linda, grabbed her arm.
“Layne. Did you hear? There has been another sexual attack.”