The Third Eye

by B R Coelho

  “A…Are you sure?”, Cathy asks, somewhat brightening up. She is rummaging through her phone. I also check my phone, and sure enough there is an e-mail from the principal. I never bothered to open it. With all the stuff going on with Nana, it was hard to focus on school.

  “Why is this happening?”, I ask, as I read the email.

  “That’s so weird.”, Lauren exclaims, reading the same email.

  “What made them change their minds all of a sudden?”, I ask looking at Brie, hoping she has an explanation for this.

  Brie shrugs, and slurps her Frappuccino. I got the chocolate and vanilla one. That one’s my favorite.

  “Dunno, and quite frankly don’t care. What I do care about is that you lied to us, Selena.”, Cathy says, glaring at me half-squinting.

  “We all saw what happened, Selena. Spill the beans. You owe us the truth.”, Lauren says setting her phone down, and crossing her arms.

  “You are psychic, aren’t you?”, Brie said, it was more of a statement than a question.

  “I’m…yes. Yes, I am psychic.”, I say, looking at my drink, absent-mindedly dunking the straw repeatedly.

  “I knew it. I knew you were.”, Brie begins to exclaim, she seems ready to start bouncing around the place.

  “Shhhh! You want everyone to hear you?”, Cathy whispers harshly at Brie.

  “So, what can you do?”, Lauren asks, arms still crossed and glaring at me.

  “I…I can read minds, and I can also move things with my mind.”, I say non-chalantly still looking down at my drink.

  “Why did you lie to us in the beginning, Selena?”, Cathy asks, she looks betrayed

  “I didn’t trust you, and I still don’t trust you, at least completely.”, I say, still not looking up from my drink.

  “Why?!”, Cathy asks, her voice getting terse. She seems visibly annoyed, almost as much as Lauren.

  “Well first of all, I didn’t know you guys very well. We’ve only known each other for like over a month. Secondly, I just found out that someone at the school is out to get me.”, I blurt it all out. I feel as if a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

  “You mean Octavia? We already know that, and we all saw what you did to her, poor girl”, Cathy says.

  “Someone attacked my Grandma on Halloween. I don’t know who it is, but I have a strong hunch that it’s someone at school. I think it might be Ms. Stanger”, I say, still staring at my drink, moving my fingers over the condensed water that slithered its way down the plastic.

  “Ms. Stanger? But why? Why would she do that?”, Lauren asks, unfolding her arms and leaning forward. She has a look of concern on her face that I hadn’t seen before.

  “Because of this.”, I say dramatically, as I fish the pendant from my jean pocket. I open the locket housing the third eye. I hold the third eye up to them. It looks like an ordinary jewel now. No spooky violet glow.

  “What is that? Is that the thing that glows inside your pendant?”, Brie asks, adjusting her glasses as she squints at the marble.

  “Yes. It’s called the third eye. My Grandma gave it to me. I use it to control my powers.”, I say, closing my fist over it protectively.

  “Could…could you show us?”, Brie asks, I knew she was going to say that.

  I sigh and look around. No-one else seems to be watching us. I stare at the cup of Frappuccino in front of me. I can feel the electricity begin to crackle at the base of my spine. Then slowly the tingling sensation creeps up my back to my neck. The marble in my tightened fist is getting warmer. The area around it is glowing a dull violet.

  Then I can feel the familiar sensation. Almost as if I’m about to sneeze, but I don’t. The Frappuccino cup floats in the air and begins to rotate slowly. Everyone at the table stares at the cup wide-eyed. They still can’t believe what they’re seeing. It’s not every day that you see telekinesis at work.

  “Something strange happened at school yesterday. People forgot about what happened on Halloween”, Brie says, still staring at the floating cup.

  “Shhhhh! Keep your voice down dummy”, Lauren barks.

  “As in they had their memories messed with?”, I ask Brie looking at her. Brie squirms a little, still eyeing the floating cup suspiciously.

  “Yeah…yeah that’s what happened. My parents went to talk to Principal Toole about my suspension, but he acted as if he had no idea what they were talking about.”, Brie says to me.

  “Selena, was it you? Was it you who wiped everyone’s memory of the fight?”, Brie finally spills the beans.

  “What?!”, I’m floored at this point, the floating cup drops on the table with a clatter, thankfully I didn’t spill the drink. Someone tampered with their memories? Was it the same person who attacked Nana? Why would they do this? This doesn’t make any sense.

  “Yeah! I honestly thought it was you.”, says Brie sipping fervently at her drink, eyeing me cautiously.

  “Are you guys serious? No one remembers?”, Cathy exclaims. She’s still eyeing me suspiciously. I guess this is her first time hearing this too.

  “Yeah, it’s strange huh?”, Brie says, giving me the same suspicious expression.

  “Guys, I swear it’s not me.”

  “Then, who did it? Ms. Stanger?”, Brie asks nibbling on her straw.

  “Could be, but it doesn’t make any sense. Why would she do that? Or maybe…”, I say.

  “She doesn’t want evidence that people like you are real?”, Cathy finishes my sentence for me.

  “Yeah, yeah, it has to be it.” A light bulb suddenly went off in my head. It had to be. It’s a cover up. She’s trying to make sure that no-one out there gets suspicious. But what about the videos? And the pictures taken with cell-phones.

  “What about the evidence that people got on their phones? I saw a bunch of kids recording and taking pictures.”, Lauren asks, her eyebrows furrowing.

  “Hmmm…good question Lauren. I mean that’s solid evidence. There’s no way she can get it off the internet.”, Cathy says.

  “Unless…”, I begin to say.

  “Unless she what?”, Cathy asks.

  “Unless she mind-controlled them into deleting the evidence.”, I say, remembering what Uncle Gomez had told me about the servants of Xibalba.

  “Mind-control? Yeah that makes sense. So, what are we going to do now? We have to go to school on Monday.”, Brie says, a hint of concern in her voice.

  “Yeah…been thinking about that. We’re the only ones in the whole town who know what she did.”, Cathy says.

  “She’s got her filthy claws in everyone’s heads, and they don’t even know it.”, Lauren exclaims as she slurps the last of her drink making that annoying straw sound---sluuuuurrrp!!!

  “My Grandma is in a coma because of her, and I think I’m the only one who can save her now.”, I say, standing from the table.

  “What are you going to do?”, Brie asks, looking a little excited.

  “Go to her house…”, I start to say.

  “And confront her. Get to the bottom of this.”, Cathy finishes my sentence for me.

  “When?”, Brie asks.

  “Tonight.”, I say, my voice taking on a new resolve.

  “You…you’re asking us to go there? She might use her mind-control on us too. We might become another one of her mind-zombies.”, Lauren whispers, nervously looking around at the kids in the book store.

  “We’ve got no choice, Lauren, I’m with Selena. She’s our best chance against Ms. Stanger.”, Cathy says standing up in agreement.

  “Well…I guess, this is it.”, Brie says, nervously. She slowly gets up as well.

  “This is crazy. What exactly are we going to get by going there? And if she does have powers, what are we going to do. Selena is the only one who stands a chance.”, Lauren says.

  “My Grandma is dying, if I don’t do something, I’m afraid I’ll lose her forever. We have to try. No one else can help us. I really need you guys. I know it’s not much of a plan, but we gotta try.”, I say
, gripping the third eye in my palm even tighter for reassurance.

  Lauren sighs, she slowly gets up. “This is stupid. We’re just kids…Alright, I’m in.”

  “When and where do we meet?”, Brie asks.

  “School yard, seven o’clock, it’ll be dark by then. I’ll tell my Mom I’m at a sleepover at Cathy’s. Ms. Stanger’s house is literally a block away from school.”, I say to the group.

  “I can’t make it for seven, how about 8:00 pm”, Brie asks.

  “8:00 pm? Sure we can do that.”, I say.

  “We need a plan if we’re going to go there. There’s no way we can just wing this.”, Lauren says folding her arms.

  “Okay then, listen up guys…”, I say.

  The school yard is eerily dark and quiet at night. Not even a cricket sound. I still can’t believe we’re going to do this. Lauren and Brie told their parents they were going to a slumber party. Brie’s parents were against it. She was still grounded. She texted us, letting us know it was going to be a no-go for her. Typical Brie! So, it was down to Lauren, Cathy and I. We had to make this work.

  I biked all the way to school. It was my first time doing it, but it was fun. And sweaty. When I arrived Cathy and Lauren were already there. Their houses weren’t as far as mine from school. Cathy is wearing her bat-girl costume. As soon as I take a look at her, Lauren begins to laugh.

  “Why are you wearing that?”, I ask Cathy. Lauren is still chuckling, holding her hand over her mouth trying to stifle it.

  “I think it’s going to help me be more confident. We’re like a superhero team now. Fighting crime.”, Cathy says, glaring at Lauren.

  “Su…Sure bat-girl. The only per…person here with powers is Selena.”, Lauren manages to say amid a few snickers.

  “Bat-girl doesn’t have any powers, so actually I’m being quite accurate.”, Cathy says, her voice filled with confidence.

  “Alright, quit it Lauren, we gotta focus. Cathy you know Ms. Stanger’s house better than all of us right?”

  “Yeah, if we stick to the plan we should be alright.”, Cathy says, as a matter of fact.

  “Alright guys, ready?”, I ask the group.

  “Ready as we’re ever going to be.”, Lauren says.

  We leave our bikes in the yard and begin our mission. It’s stealth time. Try to be as quiet as possible. I use my mind to scan the area for anyone who might be coming our way. I trained my mind to pick up and filter incoming thoughts like a radio receiver now. The third eye definitely helped me a lot on this. The neighborhood is pretty quiet. Plus, I have this uncanny feeling of being watched, but I suppress that fear.

  Ms. Stanger’s house is a normal four-bedroomed house, with a double-door garage. Apparently from Cathy’s intel, she lives alone. We walk up to it and stare at it. The house is strangely dark. No lights on at all. Almost looks as if nobody’s home. Perfect. But still creepy.

  “Alright guys, stick to the plan like we practised. Wait for my signal”, I say.

  Lauren and Cathy move in and rush to the back of the house. I move in and walk up to the front door. I try the door. It’s locked. I stare at the door knob. With my mind I begin to feel the lock mechanism. I begin to twist the mechanism spring delicately until I hear the…click! I try the lock again and the door opens. My mind is still in receiver mode, trying to pick up any thought waves in the house. Nothing. I don’t think Ms. Stanger is home.

  The living room is large. I stop and wait for my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. The only light inside is the moonlight shining in. I take out my cell-phone and begin to explore. There is a big screen TV on the far-left wall, and a set of posh leather furniture against the right. The living room is attached to the kitchen through a hallway. Even though no-one seems to be here, I’m not taking any chances. I decide to keep it quiet and keep the lights off. I move to the back of the house past the kitchen, until I’m standing at the door leading to the backyard. The door is also locked, but thankfully there is a key inside the lock. I unlock and open the door. Lauren and Cathy are missing. I call out to them but no-one answers.

  “Cathy...Lauren?”, I whisper harshly. Nothing, not a sound. I decide to step out of the house and investigate. They better not be pulling some kind of prank, especially right now. I peer around the corner of the house to look at the side path. Nothing. Where could they have gone. Then I hear rustling behind me. I turn to look. There’s a figure of someone in the back yard. About as tall as I am. I try to read their thoughts. It’s coming up blank.

  “Cathy?”, I call out.

  The person doesn’t answer. Just stands there in the dark. I still can’t make out who it is. I bring up my cellphone to add some light. Then a familiar face comes into view. It’s Brie.

  Chapter Nine

  Brie has an uncanny smile on her face. It doesn’t look genuine, almost forced. And the strangest part is I can’t seem to read her mind at all.

  “Hi Selena.”, Brie says coolly. Her usual nervous demeanor is gone. She’s also not wearing those big dumb glasses anymore.

  “Hey Brie.”, I say looking at her. Something about her new-found confidence is a little jarring.

  “Wha…what are you doing here? I thought your parents grounded you.”, I say trying hard to keep myself from stuttering. Something doesn’t feel right. Why can’t I read her thoughts?

  “You’re probably wondering where Cathy and Lauren are, right?” Brie asks, a sly smile forming on her lips.

  “Yeah…where are they. Do you know where they are?”, I ask, still unsettled by Brie’s calm demeanor.

  “You know, I’ve always wondered whether there was someone out there like me. And for the longest time, I thought I was alone.”

  Wait, what? I think to myself. Why is she talking like this?

  “And then one day I was visited, by the dark lord himself. The dark lord of the underworld, Xibalba. He told me I was a descendant of a forgotten ancient Mayan bloodline. That in my veins flowed the blood of the most powerful Mayan priestess. Priestess Jura.”

  Holy…crap. It’s her. She’s the one who’s been doing this.

  “Wanna guess what my power is?”, Brie asks, a devilish grin now formed on that once innocent looking face.

  “Mind-control?”, I blurt out.

  “Exactamundo Selena! I can subtly manipulate people’s minds. By talking, or sending out thought waves en masse.” Brie says, as she slowly walks around me.

  “I sensed the third eye entering our realm. Just like the dark lord predicted. He said you would move here with your family. He said it was written in the stars. A champion of Alo will arrive with the eye. The chosen one.”

  “It was you wasn’t it? What did you do to my Grandma, you little witch? Tell me before I…”

  “It wasn’t me who did that Selena. It was the lovely Ms. Stanger who did that of course. You should know by now that I never do my own dirty work. I let others handle that for me. I instructed Ms. Stanger to inject your poor little Grandma with a special concoction, aided with my power, and Xibalba’s magic. It distorted her memory and is slowly sapping the life from her.”

  “So, you’re the one who erased the memories of everyone at school. But why?”

  “I don’t want the whole world knowing that people like us exist, just yet. Not until it’s too late. And in order for me to accomplish my mission I need something from you. Care to guess what it is?”

  “The third eye. You’ll never have this.”, I clutch my necklace in defiance.

  “You have no choice Selena, you can either give me the eye or watch your Grandma die a slow painful death.”

  I hold onto the necklace. Is there anything I can do to stop this?

  “Time is of the essence Selena. Think fast. Or tomorrow might be her last day on this earth.”

  “Tomorrow?”, I ask. I had last seen her today. She was getting noticeably weaker with each day.

  Sensing that I wasn’t going to give her the eye that easily, Brie decides to try another tactic.

&n
bsp; “I remember how you helped me that day, Selena. When we were being attacked by Octavia and her goons. I watched you. I saw the power in you, and the fear in their eyes. Why would you now want to protect them? They don’t like us. They’re weak and terrified of what we are. They’ll try to wipe us all out just to feel safe. Don’t you see?”

  “No, there are not all bad. Some are, but a few of them are good. Just like Cathy and Lauren. We can’t judge all of them based on the actions of a few.”

  “Selena, they suspended you from school because of your powers. They’re afraid of you. And whatever people are afraid of, they will try to kill. Alo is keeping you from the ultimate truth about your power. You have the power to become a god to these ingrates.”

  “That’s exactly the kind of talk that Jura had. And look what happened to her. She was stripped of her powers and was ruined.”

  “Jura was right, in the end humanity will need us to guide them to a utopia. They cannot rule themselves without killing each other.”

  “So, you’re going to mind-control everyone. Force them to be peaceful under your will?”

  “Yes. Wouldn’t that be a beautiful paradise, Selena. No more war, death, destruction, just peace and acceptance of all. A utopia for all the indigo children and human kind.”

  “But at the cost of free will?”

  “Small price to pay, but yes, why not?”, Brie says getting visibly impatient.

  “No. I can’t allow that. I believe people should be free to make a choice. Even if that choice is horrible. Stripping them of their choice. That’s…that’s just so wrong. That’s a dictatorship”

  “Fine. I tried reasoning with you. You had your chance, Selena. Now you and your Grandma will die. And then I’ll bring true peace to this world. Seize her and get the eye.”

  I felt hands roughly grab me from behind. I turn to look, its Cathy and Lauren. Their eyes are glazed over in some kind of trance.

  “Cathy…Lauren…snap out of it guys. Please!”, I say, struggling against them, they were pretty strong for little girls. I guess that’s what happens when you’re in a trance. Cathy reaches out and tries to grab my necklace. At that instant my reflexes switch on. I feel my telekinesis come online and I instantly think of pushing them off me. I feel a wave go through my body and their grip loosens as they are knocked a couple feet away from me. I take advantage of the opening and lunge at Brie.