The Psionic Thief
Page 20
In the end, the trip won out since my home would be here forever, as long as the nodes didn’t destroy it. While we had succeeded in stabilizing it, I knew we weren’t finished with things and we just needed to know more before I could feel safe.
I let Mark handle the trip details so I could spend the next two weeks bullying contractors into getting the few remaining big things done. I managed to get them to finish the loft and driveway, but couldn’t arrange the landscaping to my satisfaction. The yard wasn’t a top priority, so I took what I could get and found myself pleased with the results.
I also found myself becoming rather fond of Claire. She split her time between us and her friends, trying to satisfy what she felt were her obligations to everyone. Thinking back on it, all of her problems stemmed from her overblown sense of responsibility.
She wanted to help the homeless of the town, then her specific friends. She took care of her friends after bringing them to the cave and tried to avenge Sammy. She risked herself to help Sue and was now willing to work hard at learning psionic control in order to help us.
She cared about everyone around her and would make an excellent mother someday. It was a constant battle for me to avoid trying to mother her myself, but I refrained so I wouldn’t scare her off or push her away. I knew Carl already thought of her like a little sister, but he handled things well and we were all becoming good friends.
There would be plenty of time for everyone to get to know each other when we got back. For now, being good friends was more than enough.
***
Claire:
Things had changed so much over the last couple of months that I could barely recognize anything. Most of my friends had moved away so they could be close to the new shelter and soup kitchen, but Charlie and Joey stuck around.
They wanted to spend a little more time at the cave, so I helped them pick out some gear that would make things nicer for them up there. They were slowly learning how to move in the forest and could make it back and forth on their own, but I still helped them when I could.
My newest friends would be leaving on a trip soon and didn’t know how long they would be gone for. While Miss Linda didn’t exactly give me the run of her house, she did tell me to clean out her fridge so the food wouldn’t go to waste.
She also hinted that the window to the attic loft didn’t have a lock or alarm on it, so I could always find a safe place to spend the night. It was a pretty nice gesture on her part, since I knew how much she loved her new house. I promised I would keep an eye on it for her and make sure nothing bad happened.
I also said I would keep an eye on the node and let them know if anything looked wrong. She programmed all of their numbers into her home phone and showed me how to use it to call them in an emergency.
I was kind of sad to see them drive off to the airport, but I knew they would be back. In a way, it was probably a good thing they were leaving for a bit so I could practice my psionic stuff. They never came out and said so directly, but I knew how badly they needed my help and I wanted to make them proud.
That’s what friends were for.
29 – Author’s Notes
Afterword
I would like to thank you for reading this story. If you enjoyed it, please consider leaving a review. It would be greatly appreciated. You can also contact me: daverenol@gmail.com with any comments, feedback, or suggestions.
David J. Renol, August, 2013
About the Author
You’d never guess that Dave was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, eh. He’s traveled a fair bit, but then a North Carolina gal caught his eye. Really he just wanted to get away from snow, but then a rescue Plott Hound wound him around her paw and that was it.
He gardens, is handy around the house and yard, and cooks better than he cleans. An avid reader his whole life, he thought someday he’d try it himself. After his wife told him to stop talking about it and do it, he finally gave it a go. We hope you enjoy his efforts!
30 – The Psionic Series
1 – Discovery
2 – Blood Magic
2.1 – Psionic Flight (short story)
2.2 – Psionic Wedding (short story)
2.3 – Psionic Exploration (short story)
2.5 – Psionic Journey Anthology
3 – Psionic Overload
4 – The Psionic Thief
5 – Dangerous Psionics (Forthcoming)