The Gifted

by C. C. Lynch

  I know how I sounded. I was losing that part of me that thought everyone could be saved. That optimistic nature that believed that the bad aspects of a person could be erased with a little hope, help, and love was fading quickly.

  I wanted to tell myself that it was because of seeing the life of two people depart in front of me, but I would be lying. I had been losing that hope since the very first instant I learned that people could be unforgiving and cold. The tree house had swallowed that part of me. It took that piece of me and buried it in the roots where it held the hope and souls of those that perished under its roof and those pieces of us would be held hostage until the day Replyx crumbled to the ground and faded into nothingness.

  Steph stepped into the room and I turned to her, placing a large fake smile on my face.

  “You know I hate that,” her expression was wry. “Not to be insensitive, but I’d love to have my memories back so that I can properly mourn Shane and his sister with you.”

  “Yeah,” I nodded, “I’m sorry about that, by the way. I did not think Lacey was going to mess with anyone’s memories.”

  I looped my arm in Steph’s and dropped my head on her shoulder. The proximity would let me replicate Lacey’s gift more easily. Also, I needed some comfort from my best friend.

  I slipped into her mind and traveled to her recent memories. The ones that Lacey had tampered with were easy to find. I suppose the easiest way to explain it is that they were glossy, like a photograph. They were shiny and new, not faded and missing pieces like typical memories. The moments in time when a person would take a few extra minutes to focus on something or someone was absent from the artificial scenes. Her previous memories were still there, but hidden behind the new ones.

  It was bizarre to see how Steph viewed things. The way she looked at people, looked at me; I was seeing things from a different perspective. I had never put much thought into how long I looked at others or concentrated on certain statements. She saw the truth in people. Her world was far more black and white than mine.

  “Hey, careful what you find in there,” she joked.

  I smiled and brought forth the memories that were true, the ones that Lacey had hidden. “That should do the trick,” I sighed, while finally picking my head off her shoulder.

  “I didn’t like her from the first moment I saw her,” she grumbled.

  All I could do was nod and shrug my shoulders. Whatever Steph’s assessment was of someone was typically correct. I dug for the best in people, latched onto even the smallest bit, and held onto it for dear life. Steph saw the truth, and for that I was simultaneously envious and proud.

  Steph crossed her arms, a strangely vulnerable position for her. “What are they going to do about Shane and Delilah?”

  I hated that question. There were so many more questions hidden in that one that it felt like I was about to partake in a one hour talk show where she was the host and I was the interviewee. What are they going to do with the bodies? How do we tell their parents? Are they really gone forever? What do we do to make sure that this doesn’t happen to anyone else?

  “I think we need an adult,” I sighed. “I’ll go find my dad.”

  “Don’t,” she grabbed my arm suddenly, “I think you need to find your British friend first.” She pulled her shoulders back and looked to the side. “Not that I don’t think you can trust your father, but I think that someone a little more deep rooted in this Replyx place might have a solution, or better answers.”

  I nodded in agreement. It didn’t sit right with me, just giving up on Shane and Delilah. Maybe it was because I had never seen anyone die before. It still was not real to me.

  Steph turned to the board and wrote in big pink curly letters “Operation Memory Erase.” She winked at me, “it was an effective little trick, I’ll give her that.”

  I snickered and shook my head before walking into my room. There was a lot of contemplation before calling out to Luther. I was afraid that someone at the tree house would catch on to what I was doing. Despite my apprehension, it was something that needed to be done.

  Luther, I called out in my mind, Luther, I need to talk to you.

  I tried it three more times.

  What the bloody hell are you doing, waking me up at two in the morning? What is it?

  That was Luther alright.

  Something happened and I need to talk to you. Can I meet you somewhere?

  Go to Glaston Academy. It’s abandoned now and not a soul will look for you there.

  I jumped up from the bed and found Aiden. He was lying in bed with his light off, but I could tell he was still awake. His plaid pajama pants and hooded sweatshirt were clear indicators that he was not up for traveling, but I doubted he would say no if I asked.

  I took a few steps into his room and with a loud whisper asked, “Can you go with me to Glaston?”

  His voice was clear and kind, “Josnic doesn’t want to go?”

  “I didn’t even ask him,” I shrugged.

  “Just wanted my company?” He chuckled, while standing up and stretching.

  “Yeah,” I began sarcastically, “it had nothing to do with the fact that if something bad were about to happen you could just stop time and get us out of there safely.” I was not about to allow a repeat of what happened when we went to get Shane’s sister. I also was not keen on the idea of bringing Vlaine to his home that was now supposedly abandoned after the altercation that occurred the last time he was there.

  Aiden walked to his bureau and pulled out a pair of jeans and a shirt. “Go let Josnic know where we’re going and I’ll get dressed and meet you in the room.”

  “You could have stopped time and got dressed right then,” I pointed out.

  “I still age, you know,” he arched his brow. “These devilish good looks aren’t going to be here forever,” he looked up and squeezed his chin, with a pensive expression.

  “Okay,” I snapped my fingers, “meet you in the room.”

  Vlaine was sitting on the bed with his back against the wall, his nose deep in a book. It was the book of gifts that he and Aiden had been looking at just a couple days prior.

  “Going to Glaston with Aiden?” He asked without even looking at me.

  “Yeah,” I answered sheepishly, “I...”

  “I get it,” he cut me off before I had to give my explanation. His voice was calm and reassuring, “I think it’s a good idea to take Aiden. I’ll stay here while we still figure out what to do about Lacey.” He grumbled, “don’t need her going around erasing more memories.”

  I sat next to Vlaine and rested my head on his shoulder, looking at the book. It was the great encyclopedia of gifted abilities; most of which I had never heard of before. As my eyes scanned the page, it finally dawned on me why Aiden and Vlaine had been so interested in it. Under the explanation of each gift was the limitation of it.

  “Wait,” I grabbed the edge of the book, “where’s the gift that Jeremiah has? That electricity thing.”

  Vlaine pulled his eyebrows together then flipped through towards the end of the book. He pointed his finger to the gift and under it, it explained that the gift would be stopped by rubber and other insulates.

  In Vlaine’s hands very well could have been the biggest key to taking down Replyx. I had hoped that he and Aiden would have included me on their plan, but whatever reason they had for not talking to me about it was for a good reason, I was sure.

  Aiden knocked on the door and leaned against the frame. As I started to get up to go to Aiden, Vlaine looped his arm around my waist and pulled me back gently, kissing my temple lightly. “Be safe.”

  “We will,” I smiled before putting my hand on Aiden’s arm.

  I took us to the tree where I had healed the squirrel near the main building at Glaston Academy. My eyes were slow to adjust to the darkness, but once they did I could see Luther leaning against the school.

  “You’ve had the displeasure of meeting Kayle, I’ve heard,” Luther puffed out a thick clou
d of smoke that seemed to hang in the cold winter night.

  I pulled my hands into my sweatshirt, hiding them from the biting cold New York winter air. “Kayle? That guy that was with Slade, I’m assuming?”

  “Aye, that’s the one,” Luther nodded. “You’re here to talk about the pure, are you?”

  “Sort of,” I shrugged, “Osiris used it on Shane. Is there any way to bring him and his sister back?”

  “If there were any way to bring people back from the dead, we wouldn’t be having this little war, now would we, love?” He tossed his cigarette into the snow and crushed it with the ball of his foot, pushing clumps of snow onto the sides of his black leather boot.

  “What do we do?” My voice cracked, “what are we supposed to do with the bodies? What do we tell their mother?” I fought back the burning tears brimming in my eyes. “How can he just use the pure on someone like he’s swatting a fly?”

  Luther looked at Aiden, perplexed, “I don’t know what to do about a crying girl, this is your area. Go comfort her or something.” Aiden gave Luther a threatening look, to which Luther put his hands up defensively, “okay, okay.” Luther then patted my shoulder awkwardly, in a poor attempt to console me. “There, there. We’re all on borrowed time, and people die every day.”

  “Hey,” Aiden warned.

  Luther put his hands up once again, deflecting Aiden’s wrath. “I’m sure karma has her eyes set on Jeremiah and the gang. They will all get what’s coming to them.” He sighed and grew serious. “I will take care of the kids. Go get them and bring them here. I’ll tell the parents and all that. There’s no need for you to bear that burden. And as for you,” he pointed to Aiden, “be careful not to find yourself at Replyx. You’ve got a mighty high price on your head and they just might be able to contain you there.”

  “I’ll be right back,” I grumbled before closing my eyes and teleporting back to Ernvlik Academy. Shane and Delilah were lying on cots in a room at the farthest end from the elevator. They looked like they were sleeping, aside from the lack of movement in their chest. I told myself they were sleeping as I pressed my hands to theirs and traveled back to Glaston Academy.

  Their bodies sunk into the snow. I hoped that perhaps touching the frigid precipitates would startle them, wake them up from a deep slumber; but there was no such luck.

  “Bloody shame,” Luther shook his head, looking at the lifeless bodies. “They weren’t useful anymore,” he said matter-of-factly. “That’s why he got rid of them. The girl was just bait. They were not counting on you using Kayle’s faculty against him.” He leaned in, “it seems you’ve changed fate somewhere along the way.”

  I rolled my eyes and shook my head, agitated with the prospect that my actions were somehow foreseen and planned on. “What are you talking about?”

  “You’ve visions, yeah?” Luther asked while pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. “Do you think you’re the only one?” He lit a match as his rhetorical question sunk in. “Jeremiah’s mate, saw a number of visions. They all led to Jeremiah getting exactly what he wanted.” Luther flicked his wrist, extinguishing the flame. “Wonder what they’re doing next now that you changed the game,” he chuckled to himself. “Anyway, I better be off. Simultaneously saving the world and destroying it and all that.” He tilted his head as if he was tipping his hat then put his hands on both Shane and Delilah before vanishing.

  Aiden watched me patiently. His expression was blank, but soft. I did not want to go back to Ernvlik right away. Instead, I looked up at the crisp night sky. There were so many stars visible that they seemed to blur together in some places. A few wisps of clouds were speckled about, but they were translucent enough to allow a few shimmering stars to shine through.

  With my face pointed towards the sky, I inhaled a deep breath of frigid air. “What do you think it was, the thing that supposedly changed fate?” I closed my eyes and imagined Miranda. Once I saw her in my mind’s eye, I held out my hand and pushed an orb of light through my palm and into the air. Opening my eyes, I watched the light dance in the darkness. “I wonder if it was something significant, or something so small that we will never be able to figure it out.”

  Aiden stepped closer to me, his body heat creating a blanket of warmth on my left side. “I think that focusing actions around a vision is the type of thing to make people go mad. It was probably something they did, not you.” Aiden put his hand tenderly on my forearm. “Let’s head back before we start contemplating the decisions of deranged men. Or before frostbite sets in.”

  Vlaine, Draxe, Steph, and Liz were waiting in the room upon our return. I expected to be bombarded with questions, but they were surprisingly quiet instead.

  Though it was not an awkward silence, it still needed to be broken. “Luther’s going to take care of it.” I shrugged, “I guess what’s done is done and there’s no reversing the pure.”

  “Hey,” Luka burst into the room with Frankie bumbling at his side, “we’ve got it.”

  Draxe walked forward. “Got the plans figured out?”

  “Yeah,” Luka nodded, “we know how to make it. It’s quite genius, the combination of materials should stop almost any gift.”

  “We need this,” Frankie said, pushing a list of items into my hand.

  My eyes scanned the items, then hovered over one in particular.

  “An abandoned jail?” I arched a brow at Luka and Frankie.

  “Yes,” Frankie nodded his head, sounding annoyed.

  “Well,” Luka gave a charming smile, “any abandoned building will do. Just preferably one with cells and doors that lock.”

  Frankie turned on his heel and left the room, but waved quickly before his exit. His interactions with Luka were evidently helping his social ineptitude. The progress was slow, but a goodbye wave from Frankie was certainly an improvement.

  The initial shock of being given the task of finding an abandoned prison was still on my face. I had to forcefully replace the expression with one of gratitude. “That is incredible, Luka, thank you so much. I cannot even explain how helpful this will be.”

  “Sure,” he grinned, “you’re welcome, Abrielle.” My name slid through his lips so pleasantly in his Scottish accent. His eyes scanned the room and lingered on Steph before he turned to add “unpredictability” to the board. He then pointed to his head, “they have telepathic ones with them.” He winked at Steph, “you had the right idea. If there are different plans made by different people, then no one knows what to expect.”

  “I’ve got an idea,” Draxe threw his hand up excitedly like he was in a classroom. “We’ll split up into two teams.” He looked over to Vlaine for a moment in contemplation, then he nodded, “yeah. I’ll take some people to Glaston and the rest will stay here. We can convert the stables to the jail, for our own purposes.”

  “Draxe…” Vlaine warned, in a gentle tone.

  “It’s our home,” Draxe growled to Vlaine, “and it’s abandoned right now. If Dad comes back, or any of them, then we can trick them into a trap. And it’ll be better than the fish in a barrel thing we have going on here all stuck on one floor.”

  Glances were exchanged between everyone in the room. Liz ran her hand through her blonde hair and shrugged, “I think it’s actually a good idea. Let’s have a meeting about it in the morning. We all need some rest right now.”

  We agreed in unison and went off to bed. Steph, always the strong emotional supporter, pulled her bed into my room. Just as we were about to settle in for the night, I thought about Ovolina and what she was going through. She had an emotional attachment to Shane and I had been so caught up in my own mourning that I never thought to see if she was okay.

  I knocked on her door and awaited a response that never came. Eavesdropping on someone’s personal thoughts was not something I did often, but I thought it was necessary in the moment. Delving into her mind was disheartening. Ovolina’s thoughts were slow, but she was not sleeping. She was replaying the scene over and over again, mentally to
rturing herself; listing possible scenarios that she would never have the chance to play out.

  “Ovolina,” I spoke gently, “Ovolina, I’m coming in.”

  “Whatever,” she grumbled, “go ahead and try.”

  I jiggled the locked door handle. Thought diving was unnecessary to know that she was not planning on unlocking the door. She had said to try, so I took that as permission. Approval laced with pain, but consent nonetheless. Using Luka’s gift, I pushed my hand slowly through the wooden door and felt the air on the other side glide across my fingers. Then, I followed with the rest of my body.

  Ovolina was lying on her stomach, her face towards the door. Her burgundy tendrils stuck to tear streaked cheeks. The pout on her face emphasized her cleft chin and a dimple deep-set in her jaw that I had never before noticed.

  I walked to the side of her bed, knelt down, and placed my chin on her bed, a mere foot away from her face.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, sliding a consoling hand onto her back.

  I prepared myself for her typical snappy remark. Instead, she sighed inwardly and wiped her palm across her cheek. “He was a really good person,” she sniffed, “it shouldn’t have been him.”

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered, “I wish it was different. I wish there was something I could do.”

  “There is,” Ovolina pulled back her hair so that I could see her entire face. “You can make sure that it doesn’t go unpunished. Shane and Delilah, their death shouldn’t be silent.” Inhaling, “I’m not a pleasant person, I know this.” She gave a morose chuckle and wiped her nose. “But they were. They were good people.” Ovolina pulled her lips in tight and glared, looking through me. “You make sure that those tree house people get what’s coming to them.”

  How could I promise something of this magnitude that I could not guarantee? I wanted Jeremiah, Osiris, Slade, and everyone else at Replyx to be punished for everything they had done thus far. The greatest retribution that I could foresee would be them feeling guilt and shame for their actions.