"Something, or someone?"
"Someone, but I highly doubt it's his sister. Just thought you should know." Lys sighs disappointedly.
"Can I help you?" a voice asks. Upon looking in its direction, they find that the voice belongs to a girl about Ty's age.
"Do you know somebody named Polly Keid?" Lys launches immediately.
"No, should I?"
"No, I was just hoping." She responds as she listlessly chucks pebbles with her abilities.
"Oh, are you a telekinetic too?"
"I think so? I don't know what that word means."
"OK, yeah it's what you're doing with ... whatever. Are you going to lessons?"
"What?"
"Right, you're not from here. Around this time most of us with abilities like to gather around the Power Core to practice, or throw some things around. You know, blow off some steam." Both girls nod with clear confusion. "Come on, I think you'll like this."
They follow the older girl wordlessly to the Power Core, where about 40 people are preoccupied in various groups. Some build small structures---individually or with assistance---others play a game where the objective is to push the other player, and others chase each other in the air. There are some groups who practice other abilities, disassembling drones and rebuilding them into other machines, having silent conversations, and the like. Some simply observe, one group in particular unabashedly watch Lys and Rosie. For the first time that Lys can recall, the other girl seems flustered. The older girl doesn't seem to notice anything, and soon excuses herself to join some friends.
"Do you know them?" Lys asks.
Rosie briefly shakes her head before she answers. "I met them when I arrived here. They are like me. Well they're a bit different. They each know a little more or less than I do about, you know, what to expect. But they think I could help them, think I could help the Commonwealth. Joining them would be like having an occupation, but ..."
"But don't you want an occupation? Wouldn't that help us with getting food?"
"Yes, but I would have to stop living with the Selle's. I don't want to do that yet." She sighs at this. "I know I will join them soon, but I just want to live for myself right now. Really live, and not just watch people having a life."
"Do they know that?"
"They do, but they like to remind me that they're waiting. I always see at least one of them every time I leave the house." The word 'waiting' seems to echo inside Lys' mind. It's odd, but it feels like it had been humming in the background for a while. For some reason, it just seemed to become a little more comprehensible as she followed Rosie to this place, and clearest when she actually said the word. She can't really understand what it means, or why it is happening. So, she decides to ignore the feeling for now, and focus on something else.
"Did you bring me here to talk to them? Ask them about Polly?" She asks in hopes of helping her new friend.
"If they knew about her they would tell you. At least three of them answer questions before you ask them. No, you are supposed to learn something here. We'll start going back when you learned it."
"What will you do?"
"I will wait for you."
"What about them?"
"They will wait too." with that Rosie tries to push her towards the other people moving things with their minds. After some prodding, Lys reluctantly approaches the other 'telekinetics'. She scans the crowd until she sees the girl who lead them to this location. She is in the middle of a power struggle with some other child. Her opponent becomes confident when the girl lowers her right arm. This quickly changes, when the girl makes a fist with the lowered arm and punches towards the other child. An extra burst of power knocks the boy of his feet.
"That's not fair! No shockwaves allowed!"
"Hey, we were playing by street rules."
"I didn't agree to that!"
"Fine, I was playing by street rules. Do you want a re-match?"
"Forget it, you'll probably find a way to cheat again."
"If you were stronger, you wouldn't need the regulations."
"Whatever." he mutters as he makes his way to another group. Lys takes this moment to talk to the girl.
"Hi ..."
"Tilda."
"Tilda, thank you. I'm supposed to learn something today."
"Well, that is why we have lessons. What'cha need?"
"I ..." She takes a look at the bustling telekinetics of various ages, and finally settles on a group zooming through the air. "... I've lifted a car already, and I've only been doing this for a day, but I think I understand it enough, but I don't know how to make myself fly."
"Ah, that's always fun. Of course, it takes a lot of concentration to do it that well, but I'm sure we can get you of the ground. Say Shorey, can I call you that?"
"I like Lys better."
"K, Lys, when you lifted this car, whatever that is, did you pick up the whole thing, like these tiny stones ..." She demonstrates by levitating some pebbles. "... or did you imagine something that lifted it into the sky?"
"The other one, it seemed easier."
"Yeah, for anything you can't imagine carrying yourself, it's easier to make platforms. At least when you're starting out, but you'll get better soon. Today, just try doing the same thing you did to the car, but with yourself."
Lys nods, and pictures a surface beneath her feet, slowly raising her into the air. When her feet are above Tilda, she begins to question herself, and her platform begins to dissolve.
"I've got you." Tilda says as she helps keep the platform intact. "But you shouldn't worry so much, you were doing great." She adds. Lys attempts to solidify her platform again, and keeps looking back at Tilda for feedback. Once she's certain of the quality again, she tries moving in various directions. Before long, she becomes adjusted to being suspended in the air and becomes more daring. She makes staircases out of her platform, or slants it slightly, sliding and catching herself. She is so caught up with herself, she doesn't even notice that Tilda has once again left her to engage in skirmish with two other children. When she realizes this, she opts to find Rosie instead. She finds her where she left her, in an intense staring contest with a young woman, who appears to be the leader of the unsettling group.
"Hey, I think I'm ready."
"This way." Is all she says as she breaks eye-contact with the woman. Lys feet hardly touch the ground anymore, as she follows Rosie. She offers to carry her, but Rosie declines. "You'll have plenty to carry soon." Lys is about to ask her how soon, when they come across someone. Mason, looking completely restless. Lys stops levitating herself before getting closer to him.
"How are you?" He shrugs in response. "Where are you going? You don't have to tell me, but I can carry myself in the air now, and if you need to get somewhere, I'm sure I can carry you too."
He takes a deep breath. "Can you take me somewhere far from people?"
"Yeah, I can try. Rosie ...?"
"I'll find my way home, I'll see you two in the morning." with that comment Lys was reassured, as the young girl walked away. Turning towards Mason made her slightly more anxious. However, she put that in the back of her mind as she focused on making a simple construct that could carry the both of them. After a few seconds, they took off. Lys decided to go for one of the landing platforms, in the hopes that they wouldn't be in use at this hour. Fortunately, her guess paid off, as nobody was at the particular platform she finally settled on. She tried sharing her tiny victory with a little smile, but that was immediately canceled once she saw the boy's bitter expression. She looked towards him awkwardly as he paced near the edge, his movements harsh and clipped.
"Do you want me to go?" As soon as the question left her mouth she wondered if that was really the best idea at the moment.
"No, it would be a hassle getting down without you." He answered with a humorless chuckle. Another moment passed in tense silence.
"I hope you find your sister soo ..." she is interrupted by the boy screaming. The sudden noise makes h
er fall on her butt. The frustrated scream is soon followed by some choice words. Throughout all this Mason punches the floor, until he seems to have run out of words. As if in defeat, he sits at the edge of the platform, legs dangling weakly and breathing heavily. Lys observes all this quietly, and contemplates what to do next.
"Hah! Hope...” He scoffs, presumably in response to Lys' earlier comment. “That's the only reason I came here. Because I hoped I would find Polly. Because I hoped she wasn't torn apart by rabid mutts. Because I hoped I hadn't lost my only family ... Because I hoped she was as immortal as I always pictured her. Because I hoped ... I am on my own now." Tears that she imagined he had been holding in for a long time trickled out of his eyes uninhibited. Slowly, the girl approached him. Once she was in arm's reach, she cautiously put her right hand on top of his scalp. Both of them froze at this moment. Lys clears her throat to relieve tension, but keeps her hand on his head.
"I'm sure she will turn up." Mason snorts at her statement.
"How on earth could you know that?"
"I don't, but Rosie can feel that we are going to meet somebody in a few months who will change how things are. That could be your sister."
"It could also be someone else. Maybe it will be someone who found her corpse. Then what?"
"Then I'll bring you here to scream again?"
This actually makes the boy smile briefly. "I wish I had found you sooner. Maybe then Polly would still be here."
"Maybe." is all she can think of saying as she takes a seat beside him. "Either way, I'm happy that you did find me. I didn't really think of Rosie as my sister, but life would have been sadder without her. Everything is so strange now, mostly this thing where I lift stuff with my mind. But I kind of like this better?"
"You don't know if you like it?"
"I don't. Mostly because I don't know what to do anymore. I could never, tell what was going to happen like Rosie did, but with the way all my days passed, I didn't think I needed to. Now I have no idea what will happen tomorrow, except that I'm going to see Rosie in the morning."
"And how do you know that?"
"Because she said so."
Mason sighs at this and lies on his back, and soon Lys follows suit. They remain like this in silence for a while, but the tension from earlier has considerably lessened.
"Is it okay if we stay here a bit longer?" Mason asks a considerable time later.
Lys nods in response. "I feel too tired to take us down anyway. I just hope we don't get in trouble."
"If your shore companion is so accurate, than I'm sure nothing will happen until you've met her." he mumbles in response. With that their silence is resumed for the rest of the evening. Occasionally, Lys hears a small sigh escape from Mason's general direction, but pretends not to notice. In a way lying on the platform is reminiscent of sleeping in the cage back at the 'Haven'. Despite that, and the distraught young man beside her, she feels rather content when she finally drifts to sleep.
Chapter 3
It was odd how silence woke her. For as long as she could remember there had always been some kind of barking, whining or other animalistic sound that would draw her out of her sleep. Even in the morning after spending the night in the car she was awoken by wild birds. No such creatures made any noise that morning, which was different enough to wake her. Lys wondered if there were really no animals in this place, or if it was just a matter of their specific location as she roused Mason from his sleep. The boy stiffened immediately, as if bracing himself for an attack, then slowly let his guard down as he got a bearing on his surroundings.
"Is someone making us leave?"
"No, but I think it's better we go before they do."
"Right." he muttered lethargically as he shook the last few traces of sleep out of himself. Cautiously, she led him onto her invisible platform. To her delight, she found that constructing them had become much easier than it had been the night before. None of them were really surprised to find Rosie waiting for them, Lys less so than Mason. Yet, they were a bit startled by Mia's presence.
"You guys have fun last night?" She asked derisively.
Lys looked to Mason, as if he could provide an appropriate response.
"I wouldn't say,..."
"Forget it. I know, you're having a hard time, and Rosie told me you wouldn't get yourself killed, but still. It's rude, you know?"
"Sorry?" Mason responds.
"Let's just find you an occupation." With that they set out. Rosie handed out some nuts to the cowed twosome, which didn't do much for their appetites but were still highly appreciated.
"Where are the other two?" Lys soon asked. "Don't they want to find occupations too?"
"Well, they might not be old enough for an occupation, but they could certainly do some small chores." Rosie explained.
"If only they weren't so lazy." Mia growled.
"Can't she just make them do what she wants?" Lys whispered.
"Yes, but she's trying to be nice." At this she nodded in understanding.
"So, why are we going with them?"
"I just think you need to come along this once."
"It's not something bad is it?"
"No, just something that needs to happen. before .... something else."
"What?"
"It doesn't really matter, but come along." Lys soon realized that trying to receive answers at this point was futile. Whatever Rosie knew would not be revealed until she deemed it 'the right moment'. However, this was a bit unusual for her, as she would in most occasions tell Lys when she could discuss further. Now it appeared as if she had no desire to talk about this event at all. As they kept walking more people started surrounding them. Among the sea of people was the group from the night before, still intently observing Rosie.
'Perhaps it's about them.' She theorized as she looked between the group and her old companion.
It wasn't long until they reached their destination, which just appeared to be an open space with people lining up to some other people.
"Are these all the refugees from our old home?" Even as she said it, it felt strange to refer to the 'Haven' as her home. True, it was the only place she could remember, but it still didn't feel like the right term.
"Most of them. Some of them are people who've grown up here, looking for their own occupation. And a few are refugees from a different 'Haven'. At least that's what I've been told."
"You've been here before?"
"Yesterday. We were led here to help us find a way to support ourselves. It's also where I met them." She said as she nonchalantly pointed her head in the direction of the clairvoyant group. "Finding an occupation is not guaranteed, but they can always find an odd-job or something to keep them afloat in the meanwhile."
"Ah." was all Lys said in response. "So, do I just watch, or should I try to apply for something? Or maybe, someone will come looking for me?"
Rosie smiled. "You can do whatever you want. But if you want to help your friend you should probably pay more attention to him."
"So I just stand here waiting for him." she states dryly.
"If you wish."
Lys sighs exasperatedly at this and looks around again. She notices that Mia and Mason are on different lines. She also notices the clairvoyants sizing her up, as if she was some kind of hilariously misplaced object. Their gaze makes something snap within her, as she hastily grabs Rosie on the arm. She growls in their general direction as she pulls her friend towards Mason. To her satisfaction, that seems to have the same effect it did back at the Haven. She takes her place beside him, and loosens the grip on Rosie. The boy gives them a curious look, but seems unperturbed by this action.
"So what brings you here?"
"I don't know, why are you standing in line?"
A snicker escapes him. "Finding an occupation, I guess."
"So maybe I want to have one of those occupation things too."
"I don't think they give you an occupation until you're 16."
"You're not
16 either." Lys has no idea if this was true, but just had a desperate desire to get the last word in.
"You're not wrong." He admits. "I haven't been 16 for months."
"Ah, so that makes you ..." She pauses as she takes some time to process this, and looks to Rosie for some affirmation. Rosie nods in encouragement, prompting her to say. "17?"
"You sure about that?" He answers bemusedly.
"I know how to count, Mason! I just didn't do it as often as Rosie, so sometimes it takes longer ..." Her face grows red as she completes her sentence. As he sees this, Mason immediately tries to console her.
"Did you know I forgot my birthday?"
This surprises both girls. "I thought me and Lys were the only one's who didn't know our birthdays." Rosie comments, taken by surprise for once.
Mason forces himself not to correct her grammar. "My sister used to keep track of our birthdays. Or at least of our ages. When we got separated I got too caught up in trying to survive to pay attention to what day it was. I had some basic idea about what age I was, but only knew for sure when we got here. Pretty crazy, right?" He explained as he put his arm around Lys' shoulders. She was slowly growing used to all this physical affection.
"I guess so." she responded, mollified. For the next few minutes, the three of them moved up the line in comfortable silence. Only once in awhile, Lys would ask Mason how much longer it would take. Before they knew it there were only a handful of people in front of them.
"Do you think they'll make an exception for me, because of my service?"
"What service?"
"My Shore Child service. Rosie's not 16 either, yet those weirdos over there are practically begging her to join them."
"Huh. Hadn't considered that. I guess we can ask about that once it's our turn."
"I'm going to become a ... finder ... of people, so I can find your sister. If they let me."
"Thanks." he says as he pats her head. "That's very considerate of you." He sighs. "I'm not sure what I want to become, myself. Maybe I'll also try to be a finder of people."
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