Gifted Connections 1

“What can they do,” I asked him.

“Fire,” he replied in a shocked voice.

His eyes lit up on another man. A squirrelly looking guy no bigger than me, but much older was bouncing up and down on his toes in anticipation. “Speed,” he whispered to me.

Then his eyes lit on another man and I gasped. Prestigiously dressed and even in the darkened room I could see his startling blue eyes and upturned nose. “Puppet Master,” the boy breathed.

I gasped as my eyes came back to focus. “Zach Young, a pyrokinetic, and someone with speed,” I said urgently to Will.

Jaxson and Troy came running into the house and started throwing furniture across the front door. “The other teams are ten minutes out but they’re rolling in deep.” Jaxson said in a slightly panicked voice.

There was no time to tell Jaxson, we hadn’t secured inside yet. That one man and five children were being held behind the doors to the left of him. As I heard the door open I began to envision several of the gifted people I had met over the course of the last few weeks, casting an illusion. I could see Jaxson’s and Troy’s confusion before the bald man and the squirrelly looking man came running into the hall.

Fire Man launched a fire ball at Ed, not knowing Ed wasn’t even there. Speedy started lunching darts at Ben, Mike, Jemmy, Rachel, Taylor, and Rick, before I even realized he had moved. The diversion seemed to have worked the way I had hoped it would.

Troy was already fighting fire with fire as Jaxson started casting his own illusions. When I saw that he had sufficiently casted enough illusions to confuse Speedy, I dropped my own illusion. Will started to pick up objects and hurled them through the air at Speedy and Fire Man and I went with my gut instinct once more.

“Show me the Puppet Master,” I said softly to the boy.

The boy didn’t start this time and immediately my vision was on Zach Young. He looked decidedly more panicked now and he was talking urgently to someone on the phone. The younger man that had been protecting the children was now urgently whispering to them and comforting them.

I imagined Will walking through the open door and when Mr. Young turned to compel him, I focused on my surroundings once more and took the opportunity to slip through the open door as Jace called after me.

I heard Mr. Young derisively talking to illusion Will as I slipped through the door. “Well, well, well, two birds one stone. We get to take you and Blake with us,” he said arrogantly as he stared intently at illusion Will.

Confusion settled in his eyes and I took the opportunity to focus in on my anger and I told him to freeze and took away his ability to talk or use his gift.

He stared at me in anger, knowing I outsmarted him, and took away his ability to use his gift temporarily.

“I’m sorry,” I said flippantly. “I remember you once telling me I should control my anger. Maybe that only pertains to when your children are involved. Forget about what you’re doing to these children.”

I heard a sound of indignation behind me and I smirked at the man behind me as I turned on the lights. “I do apologize. Children and man.” I turned my attention back to Mr. Young. “You were so outraged when I humiliated your precious, vicious princess, yet you were capable of doing these things to these children.” I had barely glanced at them, but I knew the children were underweight and wearing dirty clothing and hadn’t seen a bath in quite a while. “You allowed, that, that monster, near that girl in there,” I fought the tears that threatened to fall. “If you only knew what he was capable of, imagine allowing that monster loose on your daughter.”

“I can help,” the little boy said bravely as he took my hand in his. “Just think them,” he said softly.

Visions of Tom moments ago poised over that young girl and the day he assaulted me flitted through my head and by the growing horror reflected in Mr. Young’s eyes I knew he was repulsed and sickened by him. By his reaction, I wondered how much he really did know, and I wondered why he was there. I had a feeling he wasn’t aware of how Tom operated. I knew he imagined his own daughter in my place, in that moment.

I finally looked down at the brave little boy who had probably saved himself and the others around him by reaching out to me, and I almost fainted in shock. Looking up at me was my dark curly hair, albeit shorter, and green eyes so similar to mine. We stared at each other in wonder, but I knew he was less shocked than as I was. It was as if he had been waiting for me.

Chapter 31

Remy came crashing through the door and halted in front of me and my little miniature. He looked at me, then the boy, then me again. He looked at Mr. Young and I saw his eyes widen for a fraction of a second before disgust settled on his features.

“The teams are out there, but they may need a little help,” Remy said quietly. “We have to go out there, will you be okay here?”

“Why can’t I come?” I inquired.

He looked at me and then Mr. Young. “Can you still continue to subdue him, while you do?” Remy asked wonderingly.

I ducked my head and nodded. The truth was, the stronger I got physically, the more I started testing my gift. It started with watching people and their natural habits. For instance, I have a girl in my physics class that always shook her legs, especially during exams. One day I had decided to have her alternate her movements. She never knew I did it, at least I didn’t think she did, because she didn’t seem alarmed by it. It wasn’t until the bell rung that I remembered what I had done, and she sat there confused for one moment

before I lifted the command.

Mr. Young gave me a smug look and I knew he doubted my ability to control him if I left the room. I’m sure he was limited in his gift, but I wasn’t.

I turned to the kids. “Would you like to hear some bedtime stories? Mr. Young has two girls,” I gently squeezed the hand of a little Asian girl no older than nine. “In fact, Mr. Young wouldn’t you say this little girl, who looks like she hasn’t had a decent meal in a while and probably would love some new clothes, kind of reminds you of Mei Linn? When’s the last time Mei Linn had to go without food?” I asked in anger, feeling it mount once more.

I knew I hit another cord in him.