“Chris has gone off the deep end again. This game or whatever..it’s coming to an end...soon.” I said to them all.
“Great. We get to finish this.” Dane said.
“It’s not that simple.” Chloe said. “I know you’re happy for this to end in blood Dane. But we’re not.”
“Exactly. He might be my ex but I’d like him alive.” Kara said.
“They’ve tried to kill us. Quite a few times now. They’re going to be out for our heads now too.” Emily said. “What if putting them down for good is the only way to stop them?”
“I want to avoid that if we can. I have something that vaguely resembles a plan if that helps?” I said.
“This is exactly what I said would happen.” Lisa decided this was the perfect venue for an ‘I told you so’ moment. “You get these powers, and you use them, and you all of a sudden decide you can play God with other people’s lives. God gave you these powers to help people, not to settle school yard fights!”
“And that’s great for you to say. When was the last time someone tried to kill you with their power?” Emily said. “You sit back and help clean up the mess when it’s over, which we’re thankful for. But you’re so afraid to get your hands dirty that people are going to get killed just because you don’t act.”
“That’s not fair!” Kara said.
“No it is.” Dane said. “Lisa has the same power as Chris. We’ve all seen what he can do, and Lisa can do it to. She just chooses not to help us.”
“It’s not that simple.” Lisa said. “To hurt people you need intent, anger. I don’t think I’m capable of that even if I wanted to be.”
“You won’t even try! You’ll just let Chris kill us and hope you can put the pieces back together afterwards. Can you raise the dead Lisa? Because that might be the only way you can help me in this...” Dane said. I tried not to be worried at the fact that he was scared shitless.
“Dane. Stop.” I said. “You’re not helping.”
“And you never help Jacob. You just talk.” Dane said.
...okay so that hurt. Probably a little bit more than it should have. I think I was probably glad at that moment I didn’t have Nathan’s power otherwise Dane would have learned to fly. Instead I decided to just be mean in my own way. I could see Chloe wince at the comment, I wondered whether she was wincing over what Dane had said, or over what my reply was going to be.
“Oh grow up!” I said to Dane. “Okay, so people want you dead. This is different to the last six months how? You’re just afraid now because you’ve realised that you’re not as infallible as you thought you were. You’re afraid because all these little walls you’ve been putting in our heads all this time have been falling apart.”
“I don’t...”
“Don’t give me any of your bullshit denials.” I continued, I hadn’t been certain on that accusation but his surprise and guilt told me all I needed to. “We went through this when you first started hanging out with us. You do not use your power on us. You do not get to decide what parts of our mind get blocked off just because you have the power to. Having the ability to do something and the right to do it are two very different things!”
“Then what gives you the right to read our emotions?” Lisa said. “You’re constantly going around our heads, knowing what we’re feeling. You can do it, but who gave you the right to do it?”
“I...” I tried to think of a response that wasn’t hypocritical...it didn’t work as well as I’d hoped.
“I’ve said this all along. You use your powers because you think you’re better than everyone else. All of you do. You use them because you think you have the right to read people’s minds, mess with their heads, and you don’t. None of us do. If you want to make this fight happen, that’s your choice. I’m sick of trying to stop you. Give me a call when it’s over and I’ll heal the broken bones.” Lisa stood up and left. Kara followed.
“She is a little bit right you know.” Chloe said.
“Not now.” I said.
“Let her talk.” Dane said. “You keep acting like you’re the boss of us just because you were here first. Well Chloe has been doing this for just as long as you have, and she can see the future. I want to hear what she has to say.”
“You’re not going to like it.” Chloe said. “Mostly because I know what you did to Jacob. And to me. And to Sarah. Exactly what you put in our heads. And we don’t have the right to do that. Why do you think that I only tell you what I see in the future when it’s something big? Because I don’t have the right to mess with the future like that. And it’s the same for you. You do not have the right to decide what we think. Whether you open up people’s minds to encourage them to like you, or close off people’s heads to stop them feeling, it’s not your right.”
“I’m not going to deal with this anymore.” Dane said. “I have done everything because I’ve been trying to help people. Whether you agree with it or not. Hell, in your case Jacob, I even did it because you asked me to. So don’t give me any of that crap. I’m going to go mess with some crazy psychic kids. Put them down for good. If you want to join me feel free.”
Dane stood up and walked away.
“Jacob. I don’t agree with him. But if what Ellis is right, it’s about him and I. I’m not going to let him get killed on his own. Come help us if you find out how.” Emily said, running to catch up to Dane.
“Well. It’s just us.” I said.
“It is.” Chloe agreed.
“What do we do?”
“I’m glad you asked.” Chloe had the cheekiest smile on her face. I couldn’t resist leaning in and giving her a quick kiss. “Okay not the time.” I put my serious face back on. “We need backup. The two of them will be able to put up a good fight, but it’s not enough.”
“What do I do?”
“Exactly what you were planning to do.” She said. “Go see Ellis, she can help you with the rest of it.”
“And you?”
“I’m going to try the impossible...to get Lisa to actually do something useful.”
“Dear god...I thought I had the hard task...”
“Yeah. If I can do this I might be able to convince Ellis to give us a day off once this is all over.”
“Oh a day off...wouldn’t that be wonderful.”
“Dreaming of the future later...saving our friends first...if they are still our friends.”
“Good luck.” Was all I could say to her as we went out separate ways. I felt like there should have been something more dramatic in there. Maybe an ‘I love you’ or something. But...I was too busy being worried about Dane getting himself killed for that. That, and trying to figure out what I would have asked him to block off in my head.
I didn’t knock before I barged into Ms Ellis’ office. Which probably wasn’t the best idea. Harding was in there as well, and he and Ellis were arguing. I stood back for a moment to listen. Everyone loves a good eavesdropping...
“Laura we’re not supposed to do anything about this.” Harding was saying. “We train them...or in your case just give them powers and watch...and they fight it out. It’s how it was thirty years ago and it’s how it is today!”
“But kids are dying!”
“And they normally do! You’ve broken the rules enough by getting Jacob involved in this! What do you think the Shaman will do if *we* get involved?”
“They’ll...”
“They’ll kill us Laura! Or something worse! You know that!”
“But we have to do something! You know Chris is out of control, and that is not something that’s a part of the game.”
“What Dane’s power did is a part of it.” Harding said.
At that point Ellis noticed me.
“Jacob...”
“Jacob what are you doing here!” Harding demanded. “And have you heard of knocking?”
“I just thought you should know that everyone is about to start fighting. And dying. So if you’re going to actually do something. Now might be a good time.”
“And what do you expect us to do?” Harding asked.
“Besides locking people in closets with ghosts and mental patients? Well stopping this entire bloody game could be a good idea.”
“That’s not our choice Jacob.” Ellis said.
“That’s great. But you don’t get it. These kids are going to start dying very soon. Because you gave them powers and just let them run free with them.” I said to Ellis. “And because you decided to lock them in the room with something trying to kill them until they snapped. You’ve taken these kids and tried to fashion them into whatever weapons you can for some completely ridiculous purpose!”
“And what did you do with Emily?” Harding accused. “She’s become quite the weapon since she met you!”
“Because she learned by defending her life!” I spat back. “Now I have to go. If you two are going to lift a finger and actually prevent something from going terribly wrong in this school, now would be a good time. Otherwise, I hope you’re there to see the bodies. And the funerals. And I hope you realise the hell you have caused.”
I didn’t listen to either of them as I left. I didn’t even bother to turn around. Chloe had said that Ellis would have some help for me. She didn’t, possibly because I had done nothing but get pissed off. But I hoped I had made a difference. Regardless, I had one more person to see before all hell broke loose...
1 comment:
Hmmm, I wonder what Dane did to Jacob's mind -- perhaps getting over his shyness around girls so he could be with chloe. Could be a handy way to overcome shyness!
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