by Nicole Sobon
“Parker, dear, why must you continue to fight?” he reached forward and brushed a loose strand of my blonde locks behind my ear. “You were given a gift; all we ask is that you use it.”
A gift? Having to wear gloves to ensure you wouldn’t kill someone when you touched them was not a gift. Then again, if I were to able reach across the table and touch Bentley Wilson, I’d consider that to be a gift. At least I’d be able to rid the world of the jerk.
But then I would have to live with knowing that I had murdered someone, and I wasn’t sure that I could handle that. Even if it would be the right thing to do.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m growing tired of this conversation.” Bentley sat on the edge of the table, cupping his hands in his lap. “I’ll send the guards in to escort you back to your room, where I hope you’ll reconsider, dear. But if you don’t, we have other ways to deal with you.”
His voice, soft, yet powerful, sent a chill throughout my body. I wouldn’t reconsider, but I also knew that Bentley would keep his promise. Somehow or another, they would force me to comply, and that scared me.
Bentley took to his feet and adjusted his jacket. He walked over to the door and turned the knob. Before exiting, he turned to face me once more. “I’m so glad we found you, Parker.”
I glared at him as two guards entered the room. Once Bentley took off down the hall, the two men crouched beside my chair and released the handcuffs from my wrists. One of the guards pulled a pair of black leather gloves from his pant pocket and slipped them onto my hands.
The guards stood, their backs turned to me. Now was my chance. It was either fight and, hopefully, find a way out of here, or return to the cell until Bentley called upon me again. And I wasn’t about to do that.
I lifted the chair behind my back and swung it at one of the guards. The legs snapped as it made contact with his face, knocking him unconscious.
The other guard turned, stunned, and reached for his gun. I threw my leg up, kicking the gun out of his hand, and laughed. “Not gonna happen, buddy.” I threw a punch with my right hand, ignoring the throbbing pain coming from my wrist; my fist connected with his cheek, causing the guard to fall back onto the concrete floor.
Crouching beside him, I removed the keys from his belt loop and pressed my hand against his cheek. “Sorry about that.” I smirked. That was surely going to bruise. “You’ll be okay, bud.”
Slipping the keys inside of my pocket, I walked over toward the door, and slowly, moved into the hallway. The hallway was clear, given that the other Rares had been sent to their cells for the remainder of the night, and Bentley instructed his guards to stand position outside of the cells. I thought I’d be able to sneak out no problem, until I saw the cameras posted every few feet. “Crap.”
I had to move fast. It was only a matter of time until someone found me. With adrenaline coursing through my blood, I took off down the hall. I didn’t know where I was. I didn’t even know if I was headed in the right direction. I didn’t know a thing, except that I couldn’t stay here. I couldn’t become a murderer.
I ran past a block of empty cells, cells that would surely be filled within the next few weeks once they located other Rares. I cringed at the thought. Covera Corporations used us as weapons against other Rares. They’d capture us, and use our talents to do as they pleased. And when a Rare wouldn’t comply, like me, they’d bring in another Rare to take care of the situation – to force me into submission.
Screams came from the other end of the hall. I forced myself to move faster, looking for any sign of an exit. I took my chance on a door at the end of the hall. Reaching for the keychain, I began trying each key, hoping to find one that would fit. On the fifth key, the knob turned, and I ducked inside, only then did I realize I’d stepped inside of the lobby.
“Where’d she go?” a man shouted from behind the door.
Ten feet away, on the other side of the glass doors, lay safety. I just had to make it out before Bentley’s men realized where I’d gone. I ran toward the glass doors, setting off motion detectors as I did so, but I didn’t care. I pushed the glass door open and took off into the night.
Covera Corporations was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded only by a blanket of trees. There were no streets. There were no businesses. There were no people. There was nothing.
I glanced over my shoulder, and saw that Bentley’s men were beginning to make their way inside of the lobby with their guns drawn. Taking a deep breath, I took off into the woods, not entirely sure of where I was going, but knowing that I had to try to get away.
My foot caught on a fallen branch, and I tumbled to the ground. I pulled off the leather gloves and pushed myself up, resting against a tree.
“They won’t allow you to escape,” a strange voice cut through the silence, “You are only making it worse for yourself.”
“I will not become a murderer,” I replied bitterly.
Up ahead, a young boy emerged from the shadows. He shoved his hands inside of his jean pockets. “It’s not so bad.” He smiled. “They take care of us, as long as we comply.” As he moved closer, I noticed that he was only a child – ten years old at the most.
“How long have you been with them?” I asked, but he didn’t answer. “Who are you?”
He crouched down in front of me and placed his hands on the sides of my face. “I’m Gabriel.” His piercing blue eyes grew white as his skin touched mine. “I’m here to bring you back.”
His power burned beneath my skin as he tried to compel me to return to the facility. I fought back, doing my best to block his attempts, but he was beginning to overpower me. I shoved my hands against his chest; his body stiffened under my touch as his heart stopped pumping blood, forcing his body into rigor mortis.
I stared in disbelief at Gabriel’s body. I had done the exact thing that I told Bentley I wouldn’t do. I’d killed someone – a child, at that.
Twigs snapped a few feet away. Bentley’s men were beginning to make their way into the woods. I pulled my legs beneath my chin, wrapping my arms tightly around my calves, and rocked back and forth in silence.
“Split up!” a voice shouted.
Sensing they were drawing closer, I pulled myself up with the help of the tree, and fled deeper into the woods. The light from the moon seeped in between the trees, highlighting a narrow path that led out into an open field.
“Parker, Parker, Parker.” Bentley stepped out from beside a tree up ahead, flanked by two guards. “Where were you planning to go exactly, my dear?”
I looked around frantically, desperate to get away. But there was no way out. The other guards encompassed us, blocking me from escaping, again. “I won’t do it,” I shouted. “I won’t kill for you.”
“Odd, that you say that.” He smiled, moving in closer. “I saw what you did to Gabriel. I can’t say that I’m sorry to see him go,” Bentley shrugged it off. “Compulsion is a common power amongst Rares, I’m sure I can find a replacement rather easily.”
He motioned for his guards to move in closer, and my heart sunk inside of my chest as I realized that there was no way that I would be able to escape now. Not without killing everyone in my path, which, knowing Bentley, was presumptively what he wanted me to do. And I couldn’t give him that satisfaction.
“You’re just like your mother.” Bentley’s body shook in a fit of laughter. “You know, she was just as stubborn when we came for her.”
My hands shook at my sides as anger surged through my body. “Don’t you dare bring her into this,” I howled. “She has absolutely nothing to do with this, Bentley.”
He shook his head. “She never told you, did she?”
I didn’t answer.
“How do you think I knew about you, Parker?” His lips rose up in a tight smile. “We make it a point of tracking down Rares, yes, but Covera Corporations only came to know of your existence through me. Now ask yourself, how would I know about you and what you were capable of?”
I thought
back to what my mother told me. How Covera Corporations had come for her as a teenager, and how they’d forced her into complying for years, before a young guard helped her to escape. She didn’t tell me what happened, or why he helped her, only that he couldn’t allow a child to be born into that life. That was when it dawned on me. “You’re him,” I stated, shocked. “You helped my mother escape.”
“That I did.” Bentley smiled, pleased with himself. “But do you know why I helped her?”
“It’s obviously not because you’re a good person.” I wrapped my arms around my chest and lowered myself onto the ground. “That much I’m sure of.”
Bentley let out a high pitched laugh. “Ah, that mouth of yours will only get you in trouble.” He stooped down in front of me. “I helped your mother because I didn’t want my child to grow up in this world,” he pointed towards Covera Corporations, “I didn’t want my child to have the same upbringing that I had.”
“Excuse me, what?” I laughed.
“I was born at Covera Corporations.” Bentley reached for my hands, but I pulled back. I hated the man, but I couldn’t kill him. The last thing I wanted was a body count attached to my name. “Your power? It comes from me. It won’t hurt me.”
“Shucks,” I muttered. “That’s too bad, isn’t it?”
He glared at me. “You may feel that running away, that trying to live a normal life, is the right thing to do, but it isn’t. You were born with a gift for a reason, and now that you’re coming of age, and your power will only become stronger, now is the time for you to join us, Parker.”
Bentley Wilson was clearly nuts. I was seventeen years old. I still had my life in front of me. For him to think that I would willingly sacrifice that, that I would sacrifice everything that I cared about to work for Covera Corporations? It was utterly ludicrous. “No thanks.” I smiled. “But thanks for the offer.”
“Bentley, you’re obviously not getting anywhere with the girl.” A woman emerged from the shadows, dressed in a black leather get-up. “Let me try talking to her.”
Her face was hidden beneath the shadows, but I recognized her voice. I knew that voice as if it were my own. Except there was a certain dominance to her voice now. Even still, I knew who it was, and it scared me, because I knew that she wouldn’t do this to me. She couldn’t.
“Felicia, let me handle this, please.”
I shook my head, trying to convince myself that this was all just a terrible dream. That I was still at home, that I was sound asleep in bed. But when the moon illuminated her face and her bright green eyes met mine, I knew that there was no denying the truth. “Mom,” I whispered. “What did they do to you?”
“She volunteered to take your place,” Bentley scoffed. “We agreed, as we could always use another Morphling. Unfortunately, she wasn’t as willing to adhere to our commands once she’d learned that we hadn’t released you.”
“What did you do to her?” I screamed.
“I told you, Parker, we have a way of forcing Rares into submission.” He waved his hand at her. “She kept resisting, so we had to send in our strongest compulsion Rare to have a bit of a chat with her.”
“I was wrong,” my mother stated. “I was wrong to fight what I was meant to do.”
Meant to do? She was spewing crazy talk now.
Although gifted, Rares were no different from the people Covera Corporations wanted us to fight. We were still human. Blood still pumped through our veins. Our hearts were still capable of being broken. We were still capable of dying. We were just as fragile as the people Covera Corporations set out to harm.
“Mom,” I cried out. “Do you remember when you told me that no matter what we do, we always have a choice? How every decision that we make impacts not just you, but those around you?” She didn’t answer. “Remember how you told me that, in the end, it all comes down to knowing you did everything you could to make the world a better place? I need you to remember, mom.”
She seemed to consider what I’d said. But the compulsion was too strong. “Parker, dear, it’s time to right my wrongs. It is time for you to use your gift to help others.”
Bentley chuckled. “Now that you’re coming of age, Parker, this is where you should be. This is your home.”
“Let her go,” I whispered. Bentley shook his head. “Please, I’ll do whatever you want, just please, let her go.”
“Will you agree to join us?” he asked, arching a brow.
“Only if you let her go.” Bentley seemed to consider it for a moment. “If you agree to let her go, Bentley, I’ll join you, I promise.”
“Very well.” He snapped his fingers. “Marshall, erase the compulsion, please.”
He pressed his palms against my mother’s cheek and stared into her eyes. A soft hum filled the air, penetrating the silence. She gasped as Marshall’s hands fell back to his sides. “Parker!” She cried out. “Parker, run!”
Tears pooled at the corner of my eyes as I took in the panic that covered my mother’s face. “I’m sorry, mom. I had to. It was the only way.”
Bentley pulled me to my feet. He placed my hands behind my back and cuffed my wrists, again. “You made the right choice,” he whispered. His cool breath sent a chill down my spine. “You did what you needed to do.”
Underneath the night sky, surrounded by Bentley and his men, I’d succumbed to my greatest fear.
LOSS OF TIME
When the call came, I knew something was wrong. Over the past few months, she’d only gotten worse. “It’s a matter of time,” they told us, as though it was supposed to be of comfort. But watching a loved one dissolve right before your eyes was far from comforting.
It had only been a year since she’d been diagnosed with cancer, and back then, we thought things couldn’t get worse. Back then, we thought she’d beat it. Back then, we still had hope. It was surprising how much could change within a year.
Standing in line at the airport, a duffel bag slung over my shoulder, and my boarding bass in tow, I felt myself falling apart. This shouldn’t be happening, I told myself. And it shouldn’t. But it was, and I wasn’t sure if I could handle it.
I wasn’t sure if I could keep it together because inside, I was a complete and utter wreck. My heart pounded against my chest with fear. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what my grandmother must be feeling. I wasn’t the one dying, but it sure as heck felt like it.
“Boarding pass?” the flight attendant asked. Regaining my composure, I handed her my boarding pass and waited for her to scan it, before allowing me to enter the walkway. “Have a wonderful flight,” she said, smiling as she sent me on my way.
I nodded, moving with the crowd. The cold air in the walkway beat against my skin forcing me to pay attention. As we neared the plane’s entrance, I began to panic. In a few hours, I’d have to face reality – I’d have to accept that this was the last time I’d see my grandmother.
Breathe, Sophie, I reminded myself, relax.
Following the other passengers, I stepped onto the plane and made my way down the aisle. I moved down the aisle until I neared my seat. Seat 22A. A window seat. At least that’s a positive, I told myself. I could lose myself in the clouds for the next few hours.
I shoved my bag inside of the compartment above and eased myself into my row, lowering myself into my seat.
When my mother told me that we needed to visit sooner rather than later, I knew that it meant she only had a few weeks left – if we were lucky. She’d left earlier with my father and sister, but I’d stayed behind. Until now.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” she told me. “It hurts, we’re all hurting, but the world can’t suffer because of our selfishness, Sophie.”
All that I wanted was more time.
When we’d moved from New Jersey to Florida, as a child, I didn’t think much of it. Heck, all I cared about was that we’d be moving closer to Disney World. I never thought about what I’d miss – how much I’d miss.
Now, it came to me in full force. I
’d missed getting to know my grandmother. I’d missed growing up with my cousins. I’d missed being around my family, and I didn’t realize just how much it hurt until I was faced to deal with losing a loved one. It was rather pathetic that it took someone dying for me to see what I’d been missing.
The worst part was that I knew that I could change things. I could give her more time. I could give us more time to say goodbye. But my mother insisted that I leave the balance alone.
What was the point of being able to control time if I couldn’t use it for something important? For more time with my grandmother before she left us?
As the plane filled up, a voice beamed over the intercom, urging all passengers to power off their electronic devices before diving into the safety procedures we were to follow in case of an accident.
Such a comforting topic right before liftoff, I thought.
I strapped on my seat belt, lifted the shade panel on my window and leaned back in my seat. I was dreading this trip, and it didn’t help that the guy beside me insisted upon leading towards me. Two minutes in, and he was already beginning to doze off. Oh, how I hoped he wasn’t a snorer.
I pressed my head against the window and stared out into the clouds, eager to clear my mind, to erase the pain that was desperately trying to overtake me, to claim every inch of me. The clouds and bright-blue sky calmed me, allowing my eyelids to close, to silence the pain pumping through my heart.
The aircraft skidded to a halt on the landing strip at the Newark airport, forcing my eyes open. The creepy guy beside me had somehow managed to rest his head on my shoulder at some point during the trip. “Seriously?” I hissed, pulling forward, causing his head to drop and his eyes to fly open. “I’m not a pillow, you know.”
He looked at me apologetically as he ran the back of his hand across his lips, wiping off a stream of drool.