Psychic Schoolkids Pt5

My laptop is currently playing up. So if it dies there may be some delays in our regular broadcasts. Apart from that, I'm aiming for 3 updates a week (at least while I'm still off my feet) we'll see how that goes though...

6 Months Earlier

We used to be happy. Hell, I used to be happy. Before Emily, before Dane, hell even before Chloe. There was Nathan, Matt, Chris and myself. We were the happy little misfit crowd of guys who sat about talking about some of the most pointless shit, and had fun doing so. Then Chris screwed it up.

“Guys. This is Kara. My Girlfriend.” He had said.

He had sprung it on us while we were having lunch down under the pine trees. It was unheard of for one of us guys to have a girlfriend. Yet here was Chris, who has somehow convinced the Goddess that was Kara to go out with him.

I still remember the first impression I got of Kara. Sure, I’d met her before in various classes, but I’d never actually talked to her until Chris brought her down to lunch with us. She was almost the embodiment of hot. Tall enough that a guy didn’t have to bend his neck too much, but still shorter than the average guy, skinny but not anorexic, slender arms and legs but still a bit of bulk where it counted (ie. Chest and ass).

“So you must be Jacob.” Kara said to me as she sat down next to me. “Chris has talked about you.”

“Only good things I promise.” Chris said hurriedly before turning back to a conversation with Nathan.

“It’s mostly true.” She said. I was amazed at the absolute confidence she had as she spoke.

“It’s odd ‘cause he’s never mentioned you before...” I said.

“Yeah that’s mostly my fault.” She admitted, laughing to herself then lying back on the table. “I wasn’t sure what was going to happen between he and I, and I didn’t want everyone in there” she jerked her thumb at the school building “making a big fuss about it. It’s better to lie low until you’re sure there’s something worth gossiping about.”

“You think Chris is worth gossiping about?” I teased.

“Yeah he’s not. I am though.” Kara laughed. “You guys should come hang out with my friends at some point.”

“Who? Lisa and that other chick?” I asked, trying to remember the ever-changing layout of school social groups.

“Chloe. I actually think you and her would get along. If you’re even half as frustrating and opinionated as Chris says you are then you two will get along like a house on fire.”

“She sounds fun.” I looked over to see Chris staring at Kara and I. Kara followed my gaze and I could tell that was going to be the case. They both had the hots for each other, and not just the little butterflies one. I wondered how long they’d been hanging out without me noticing. “I’ve always worried about that expression though. Have you ever been standing next to a house on fire? It’s not the safest of places to be...”

“I’ll keep that in mind. I’ll stand a safe distance away with a fire extinguisher just in case will I?”
* * * * * * * * * *

At that moment. I was experiencing exactly what a house on fire was like. Well, a sick bay on fire. Thankfully it was its own building, and wasn’t going to take the rest of the school with it. And in complete disagreement with her word Kara was nowhere nearby with a fire extinguisher.
Not that I think a fire extinguisher would help Emily.

Even though she was barely conscious, her powers were kicking in just as bad, if not worse than they had in the science lab. Dane and Chloe just stood watching the Sick Bay burn as the fire trucks rushed into the school and zoomed into action. I then remembered what else was coming. An Ambulance.

Chloe spotted me as I reached them, she knew better than to ask what had happened with Kara.

“She’s getting worse. Dane can’t help her at all, and she seems to be working herself into a state where she just can’t control what her body is doing.”

“And the ambulance will be here soon. They’ll have a field day with her...” Dane said. “Unlike us, one touch and they can tell she’s...out of the ordinary.”

I nodded, and tried to figure out how to salvage the situation. Lisa was going to be no help, even if she could do something she would refuse to. Chloe was too panicked to focus on anything
enough to give us even a glimpse of what was going to happen next, and Dane could put as many walls up inside Emily’s mind as he wanted, but she was so freaked out she was going to break them down again.

“We need to get Emily inside.” I said. “Buy us some time, and get us some peace and quiet.”

“How do we do that without getting burnt, and without her burning or melting whatever she touches?” Dane queried.

“We don’t have time for that kind of logic. Just help me grab her, avoid touching her skin, and we’ll deal with the next part when we have to.”

“What’s the next part?” Chloe asked.

“The part where I find out how much I can do...”

As Dane and I carried Emily back into the building, with Chloe opening the doors and trying to scout a place that wouldn’t catch alight, we ran back into Ms Ellis on her way to her office.

“Oh thank god you guys aren’t in the sick bay. You were the only ones we thought were there.”
She said with relief, before her mind instantly started panicking about a million other things going on. Like her school being on fire. “Come into my office, you can wait for the ambulance here.”

Ms Ellis’ office was actually pretty swanky. She had a huge desk, and a couch, and loads of bookshelves, filled with school books, as well as a few of Ms Ellis’ personal collection.

“Put Emily down on the couch.” Ms Ellis ordered.

“I think she’s probably better on the floor.” I tried to find a way to save the couch besides saying it would burst into flames.

“Nonsense. Now just put her down.” She guided Emily onto the couch...which oddly did not burst into flames.

“Now Dane can you please come with me for a minute, I need to know what happened in the science lab. I think Chloe and Jacob can take care of Emily for now...” She began to leave with an air of authority, something which was odd for Ms Ellis.

“I’ll help her, you guys do good...whatever it is you’re going to do.” Dane said, before bounding out after Ms Ellis.

“Okay Jacob...what are you going to do?” Chloe asked the logical question.

“Well. Her emotions are on the fritz, so she is losing control of her power.” I explained, and Chloe nodded in response. “I’m going to try to help her control it.”

“You’re going to...” Chloe trailed off.

“Yes. I wonder why the couch isn’t burning...”

“Don’t try to change the subject. You remember what happened last time you tried this?”

“That was different. I know what to expect this time.” I reached out to put my hand on Emily’s forehead.

“You said yourself. You never know what to expect.” Chloe grabbed my hand away. “This is stupid.”

“And there isn’t another way. This is our mess and I’m going to put it as right as I can.”

I pulled my hand away from Chloe and put it on Emily’s forehead. I winced at the burn, and tried my best to put it aside and focus before Chloe could stop me.

The world went blank...

People’s heads are weird. I think that goes without saying, and that’s often just based on observations from the outside. From the inside, you get a new perspective. My perspective of Emily’s mind was all about fear. And heat. And anger. And heat. Did I mention heat?

What’s going on? Emily’s voice popped inside my head.

I couldn’t respond. I was trying to get my head around what was happening. It takes a lot of concentration to get into someone’s emotions on the level I was, actually feeling everything in total synch with them as opposed to reading the surface like I usually do. Combined with the burning on my hands I could still feel, it felt like someone was taking a pickaxe to my head, splitting it in so many directions I wasn’t sure which one was the most important.

I’m scared, everything is so hot. Those guys were so mean to me, and it’s just getting hotter and hotter. Oh god I can’t make it stop. I know it’s me making the heat, what if it I hurt someone?

Emily panicked.

I almost panicked with her. Thankfully, I could stop myself before I did, otherwise it would all be a lost cause.

Emily. You need to stop. Stop panicking, stop being afraid, and everything else will balance itself out.

Jacob?

Yup. Now listen and I’ll help you make it stop.

No I can’t. There’s too much heat. I don’t know how I’m doing it and I don’t know how to make it go away...

Stop! Focus on me. Not on the heat, or anything else. Listen to me and keep as calm as you can.

...o...okay.

Good. Now I need you to focus for me on the heat.

As soon as I said it, I felt the heat beginning to overwhelm her and the panic return.

Wait I said Only focus on one tiny part of it. Ignore as much of it as you can, and just look at a small part of it.

I felt her mind cool down just a little bit, and my vision went from a field of flames to a flame small enough to fit on a candle.

Okay, now we need to trace that fire to the part of your mind where it comes from. It should be where the cold comes from too.

We followed the fire through Chloe’s mind until we found it. Two big balls of fire and cold sitting in the middle of her mind, spreading through everything they could with every emotion they could touch. That was the problem, they were sitting around unrestrained, able to influence any part of Emily’s mind of body that they could.

Good. Focus on both the cold and the heat. I need you to keep them as much in balance as you can. Once you cool down I can focus more, and we can try to stop this.

The burning in my hands faded. My ears could vaguely here Chloe saying something, but my mind was too focused on Emily, and the growing pain in my own head, to pay attention.

Now you need to move these to a part of your mind where you can control them. Do you remember our psych classes? Left brain and right brain? I felt Emily’s acknowledgement Well we’re going to do that. Cold goes into the left brain, Hot goes into the right brain. I want you to make a picture of your mind for me, and focus on that for me. Put all of the heat onto one side, and all of the cold onto the other. Then close your mind up to them. Know that you can bring the power back out when you need to, but make sure you do when you want to.

Emily was calming down slowly. What I was taking her through was mostly meditation, but with practice she would be able to hold back her powers enough that she wouldn’t burn down the school with every panic attack. I felt that that was important.

As Emily began to get her power safely locked away, I became aware of the pain in my head getting worse and worse. I knew what I was doing was stupid, and was not going to end well, but I had to stick around and make sure Emily was going to be in control.

Okay, now I will help you stay in control and use your power, but I need to leave now.

Don’t go Jacob!

That was the problem. Emily was getting used to having a personal therapist inside her own head. Wonderful for her, but bad for my brain, which wanted to exist separately of someone else.

I focused as much as I could on letting myself out of her mind. As I pulled myself out, I focused on the room around me. The worried look of Chloe next to me...and then the carpet....and then blackness.