The Gifted

by C. C. Lynch

  Being under Creas and Semper’s wing was the best place I could have ever been. They trusted and cared so much about me that they would put me in charge of the training room when they left. Semper did not leave often, but sometimes he would be called to help Creas with scouting.

  Not long after Jules left, my first female friend was replaced by three new ones. They did not find me intimidating and I did not have to try and chameleon myself to their personalities to fit in. I was finally in a place that I belonged.

  Marissa, Kelsey, Tammy, and I were attached at the hip once I was done in the training room. Their gifts were so different than mine that the place held no appeal for them, but they loved to see me practice.

  Tammy was turning nineteen and her birthday festivities lasted until two in the morning. Everyone had gone to bed but my body was beginning to rebel. My limbs were buzzing with the need to train. The night was silent and the training room was solely mine. Attaching a belt of knives to my hip, I began to run. Expertly, I threw daggers into the middle of targets that Creas had set up for me, the point slicing through the middle of the red marker every time. The restless buzz running through my body calmed down with each target I struck.

  I was halfway through my exercising when I saw a figure enter the room out of the corner of my eye. The guy stood shorter than both Creas and Semper.

  “Hey,” I sputtered between heaving breaths. Just as I was about to ask him if he was new to the training room, he walked closer to me and I snapped my mouth shut. It was definitely his first time in the training room. I would have remembered that face if I had seen it before.

  “Hey,” he smirked before his smile dissolved to a serious expression. “My name is Draxe.”

  “Claire,” I nodded in response. “Can I help you with something?”

  “Actually, you can.” He looked over his shoulder and exhaled. “There’s this group that are snatching gifted people and torturing them. They’re pretty bad and you’re on their radar.”

  I did not feel scared, nervous, or threatened. I felt excited.

  I began to undo my belt to put it away. “Are you in danger too?”

  He gave a swift nod.

  A smile tried to spread, but I kept my face stern and neutral, serious as if I were talking to Semper. “What can I do to help?”

  Before I knew it, we were outside making our way to some girl that was about to transport us to a safer place until we devised a plan to stop those threatening the lives of the only people I had ever fit in with.

  15

  CONNOR

  Al looked at me with a hard glare, repeating the direction over again. “Be in that exact spot at 10:04 A.M. You cannot be late.”

  “Got it,” I nodded.

  “Let’s go, mate,” the silver haired stranger with a cloud of smoke surrounding him put his hand on my shoulder.

  He an Al had been coming to the academy every couple of hours trying to get everyone on board with their plan. The moment Al had caught wind that there was a replicator working on the inside at Replyx, he went to see him. Al was the opposite of me. He was invisible and no one seemed to notice when he was gone. Everyone saw me. Maybe my red hair gave me away, or I guess I just have one of those faces that everyone sees as a target. Either way, he managed to sneak around without anyone noticing.

  Mister Tin-head took me about one hundred paces from the place I was meant to be and I stared down at my watch. The moment I saw there were three seconds until it was 10:04, I ran to the spot Al told me to go to and threw my arm up.

  Heat licked my face as I deterred a massive ball of fire from hitting Abrielle. The next thing I knew, the big guy that had tried to attack Abrielle was throwing his entire weight and strength into a punch. Once again, I deflected his force and the guy was thrown back into the wall.

  Abrielle’s bright eyes softened and sincerity flowed from her as she thanked me. No one had ever thanked me for anything before. I was always the butt of a joke, the scapegoat, taking the brunt of everything. She took the big, bald guy to Glaston where they had made a prison out of a barn and came back. That’s when I remembered what Al had told me. She needed to warn B… someone with a B name.

  As she ran to give whoever it was a warning, I went to my next station. I would need to stay there for eight minutes, before my next task.

  I got to my station and waited. Six minutes into my wait I saw Lena run by, then back pedal to my side.

  “All the animals are free and should be out of the building soon. I’m supposed to go to the x,” she pointed at a piece of paper with a crude map on it, “and wait for Luther to come get me.” She beamed excitedly, “one minute to departure!”

  Lena’s happiness was contagious and I found that I was smiling, despite the actual danger we were in. Exactly sixty seconds later Luther blipped into the room and left with Lena. If I hadn’t known he was coming, I would have had no idea who had taken her from that spot.

  Three seconds until my next task. I prepared myself, putting both forearms in front of my face. A voice came closer to the door in front of me and I inhaled, checking my footing.

  “What the…” the voice came closer just before I felt the tickling of the energy brush against the hairs on my arm before being deflected back to its source. The inside of my body shook like the vibrations of a loud percussion exploded inward from my muscles to my bones. The man from which the words had come from was now on the floor, lifeless.

  The job was done.

  16

  Miranda

  My hands shook as I stared down at the crudely written words. “Lights out at 10:13. Make sure Vlaine does not see screen.”

  I looked at the back of Vlaine and Aiden’s heads. They were watching the screens intently, making sure that everyone was in the right spot at the right time. There were twelve seconds left until I had to make my move and I needed Vlaine’s eyes on me.

  “Guys,” my voice shook, “what time do you have?”

  They looked down at their watches, never turning towards me. Four seconds left and their eyes were not on me. I inhaled then let out the loudest scream I could possible muster.

  Both men jumped in their seats and turned to face me. My eyes went to the screen with Connor on it. He had his arms in front of him and the man with the nice suit opened the door. When his eyes fell on Connor he threw a massive and fatal blast towards Connor who redirected it. The man flew backwards and fell to the ground. I watched closely, seeing no movement in his chest. He was not breathing.

  The beeping of a watch stole my attention and with the snap of my fingers, the lights in the building went dark.

  17

  CLAIRE

  Luka, Al, Ovolina, and I stood still in the corner that Al had taken us to. In the quiet room, our breaths were deafening. I looked down at the watch fastened to my left wrist, the time was thirteen past ten. The signal was already a second late. A few more seconds and it would throw the entire plan off. Fifteen seconds passed and finally the lights went out.

  “That’s our cue,” I whispered to the group.

  Luka pushed his body through the locked door that we were meant to go through and opened it from the other side. As my eyes adjusted, I was stopped in my tracks.

  My hand went to my mouth and my body went cold as I saw the humans trapped in animal cages.

  Ovolina was telekinetically opening the cages, letting people out. They would be stiff and sore from their captivity. Most of them were lethargic as if they had been drugged or starved. The room smelled distinctly like an electrical fire mixed with waste. It was putrid and burned my nostrils.

  In the darkness it was hard to distinguish faces, but one stood out from the rest.

  “Donny?” I gasped, running to the cage with the familiar face. “Oh my God, Donny, are you okay?”

  “Claire bear?” I heard his weak voice answer my cry.

  “Al,” I choked, “we need to get him somewhere safe.

  A figure ran into the room as I called for Al’s
help. Ovolina and Luka continued to help people out as the figure made its way to Al.

  “Where the bloody hell is Briac?” The voice was urgent. “Something went wrong and we need him and a healer at Glaston, stat.”

  “Al,” I cried out, “bring us too. Donny needs help.”

  “Whatever,” the annoyed voice of the British man gritted, “let’s go, now. I’ll get back to you fellows when I can.”

  The man took us to the stables. I looked up to see a boy banging on Abrielle’s chest. He leaned down and blew into her mouth three times then started chest compressions.

  “Come on, Abrielle,” he yelled frantically.

  The boy turned to see the group of us that had landed just behind him. “She’s dead,” he yelled at the man with silver hair. “Osiris killed her!” His shrill shout ran through my bones.

  “No,” I shook my head, “she can’t be.”

  Al looked down at his watch. “I have somewhere to be in three minutes. I’ll return with the best healer I know.”

  Nearly a minute later Al came back with two people, both baring a great resemblance to him. They looked at Abrielle and gave one another a grim glance.

  “You,” Al pointed to the man with silver hair, “start getting people back here. And find Aiden, now.”

  18

  AIDEN

  “She’s weak.” Al spoke of Abrielle like a child he could not teach basic arithmetic to.

  Weak. That was a statement assuming the only other option was being strong. There are no ultimatums on personalities. One cannot be simply weak, or strong, or smart, or unintelligent. Those words merely describe a mask that one puts on someone else.

  I turned my head slowly to Al, taking in all his expressions at once. It remained stolid, telling me far more about him than if it altered at all. “A weak person wouldn’t have risked getting abducted and tortured just to warn people that they might be in harm’s way.”

  I had stopped the world a thousand times over. When people are paused, you can see the parts of themselves they hide from everyone. I had seen weakness in the act, not just the product of it.

  His jaw clenched and he jerked his head. “I meant with her gift.”

  “I know,” I said flatly. “Would it not be more productive to try and assist her with the areas that you strive in?”

  His lips twitched as he began to figure out his reply. Al was a good man, but his upbringing made him an elitist on the front of the application of certain abilities. “Come on shadow-croucher,” I nudged him, mockingly, “lend your knowledge to a fellow watcher.”

  His eyes narrowed on me. His go-to gift was shadow-crouching and he took my knowledge of it as a threat. If I hadn’t stopped time and caught him mid-transformation, I would never have known. I did not care if he was offended, threatened, or whatever. I had said my piece and was done with the conversation. I slowed the world to a halt and found my way to Josnic.

  “What the hell is this?” Josnic laughed, picking up the headmaster’s treasured book of gifts, “the Necronomicon?” Amused, I sat on the couch and looked at the book with him. “That’s a damn weird hobby,” he announced, realizing exactly what the book was.

  I never thought much of it. Other people’s business was exactly that, and if someone wanted to document the uses and limitations of gifts then that was their own prerogative.

  “What did you say that dude’s gift was?” He was talking about the headmaster.

  “He sees different outcomes,” I replied flatly. “If he’s about to make a decision, he foresees how it affects himself and other people.”

  Abrielle walked into the room. That’s usually when I would stop things to check if there was a threat, but she was vetted and approved by Josnic. The guy was almost as weary of people as I am, so I trusted his instincts on her.

  “You trust him?” Josnic asked me quietly.

  I put my thumb to my mouth, chewing on the end of it for a moment while I thought. “Kind of,” I shrugged and looked over to Abrielle. She glanced at me and smiled, I smiled back reactively. “Maybe I don’t,” I said, taking the book from him and flipping through the pages quickly.

  There were initials next to some of the gifts listed and seven sets of initials next to replicator with two crossed out in red pen. That was a powerful message from someone that can foresee things. What was the point of putting that down there, knowing it would eventually get a reaction?

  I sucked in a breath and stopped time to think. In the corner of the room I could see Al starting to shadow-crouch. Abrielle was midway to sitting in front of the fire. I studied them for a moment. The red initials in the book seemed more and more like a threat and the two replicators in the room held morals above breathing.

  I knew what I had to do. I needed to get Al and Luther together to check out the headmaster. It took hours of planning but we were finally able to get them to replicate his gift. The kid was against it the whole time. Something about honoring the powers and asking permission, blah blah blah. Either way, they got it to work out.

  After an entire day of watching the headmaster’s actions, I finally caught on to his connection to the tree house. Stopping time over again to listen to a conversation was excruciating, but I managed it.

  “Your daughter is traveling to Glaston Academy soon. She’s going to take you there in three days,” he said over the phone. “Everything is going according to plan.” A long pause kept the room silent then he added, “Ivan will be there at the end of the week.” He nodded his head, “yes, and she’ll be in her old dorm room.”

  We strategized for hours, Al, Luther, and me. We came up with the perfect plan and, as long as everyone stuck with it, it would work. The outline was based on precise times. I would manage everything based on the timing. It was something I would excel at.

  Before leaving Luther, I turned to him and asked, “Abrielle’s father?”

  With a drawn in breath, he shrugged, “did you think the man could just go back to living his life without consequences?” I stared at him a moment longer and he finished, “small minds are easily persuaded. Once persuaded, self-doubt will step in.”

  I crossed my arms, trying to take his words as a simple statement that everything will be all right in the end. “After how long?”

  He cocked his head to the side. “Does it matter?” On that note he disappeared, leaving Al and I to get things arranged on our end.

  The day came that we would infiltrate Replyx. While Al was out talking to Luther, I put the envelope of directions on the table. Al was putting his directions in the sitting room at Ernvlik.

  Everything was following the schedule until Luther appeared in the control room with a look of dread on his face. “She’s dead,” Luther shook his head. “You best have a plan because something went wrong.”

  I looked to Josnic, knowing that an explosion would be coming soon.

  “Who is dead?” He was completely nonchalant when he asked, in denial it could be Abrielle.

  “Who did it?” I shouted firmly.

  Luther’s glare fell to Josnic before returning to me. “Osiris.”

  “Shit,” I exhaled, “get me to her.” I approached Luther with my arm out.

  “Who the hell died?” Josnic roared, realization dawning.

  Luther’s eyes went soft with true sympathy. “It was Abrielle.” The second the first syllable left Luther’s mouth, Josnic was running to grab onto Luther.

  No words were necessary. Luther was taking me and Josnic to Abrielle. The moment we got there, two Native American people, relatives of Al, were working their magic on Abrielle who was lying lifeless on the floor.

  Erik had his hand on her arm, his eyes bloodshot. Josnic rushed towards Erik and pushed him into the wall.

  “It wasn’t me, I swear,” Erik put his arms up, surrendering to Josnic’s rage.

  “Josnic,” I yelled, “we can get her back.” He looked at me and his arms went limp, freeing Erik from his clutch.

  Josnic looked at Erik and
raised his fist about to hit him and Erik flinched. “She better,” he warned Erik.

  “A watcher,” the older Native American woman whispered, looking at me.

  Their family called me a watcher. They were really the only people who had a name for me. “Yeah,” I nodded, “tell me what to do.”

  19

  OVOLINA

  “Where the hell is everyone?” I ran down the hall to the green triangle drawn in crayon on the map I was given. The person behind the instructions was meant to be anonymous but it was clear from the crude map it was a male. Only a man would use scrap paper and a crayon to instruct another on a life-changing and possibly lethal event.

  Al had taken the human prisoners to the Think Tank. Human prisoners. The non-gifted ones, I should say. They were gone and safe and I was supposed to meet Aiden promptly at 10:17 and if Aiden was anything, it was prompt. The guy had no excuse not to be.

  I had been at the red x, our meeting spot, for an entire three minutes before I gave up and tried to find someone at the control room. The lights were out in the building, as the plan had detailed, but something was holding things back.

  Some woman was feeling her way along the wall, directly in my path. Hoping that she could not recognize that I did not belong, I jogged by and said something to the effect of, “the power is on but no lights, how strange!” Usually the sting of my surly and brazen attitude hid the awkwardness.