Gifted Connections 4

“Jaxson James,” I admonished him. I agreed with him, but I wore clothing like that at times, too. I didn’t want him to judge them even if they annoyed me. “Stop.”

“Go get the guitar, man.” Noah laughed obviously amused by Jaxson calling the girls out. All of them had been making a point of strolling near the table.

“I’ll go with you, Jax. Do you mind if I play with you guys?” Gavin asked me and Ben.

I was surprised by Gavin’s desire to play with us. We played together from time to time, but he usually didn’t like playing in front of others. He just got accustomed to playing in front of family, but this was going outside of his standard comfort zone to the extreme. He was crazy talented, so I didn’t know why he was so shy.

“Not at all,” Ben said enthusiastically. “I’m going to run and get my guitar.” He stood up and started to head towards the dorms.

“I’m coming too, man,” Tyler said as he got up. “You guys jamming?” he asked Rick and Mike.

“Count me out. I need to find some tail and get some sleep,” Mike said bluntly. “Yo, Jess,” he yelled down to the girl at the end of the table in the group Jace and Noah were sitting with. “You want some?”

I saw her roll her eyes but get up. I knew most of them would be slipping away soon. Since they used their gifts quite a bit tonight, they would be craving the physical intimacy. I had already seen Terrance and Marcel slip off with a couple of the Nons.

“I’m just going to chill,” Rick stated. He played the drums, so it wasn’t like he could do much without them.

The South Carolina team and the Knights had already carried their bags into their dorms. Until we had everything put together upstairs, we would be living down here. I felt bad that the their first experience here would be under these circumstances. Granted, most of them volunteered to come here; but the fact still remained that they would be living in conditions they weren’t accustomed to. They would learn fast that the conveniences they were used to wouldn’t be as readily available.

I leaned back in my chair, full and content. My mind began to wander over the whole day's events, and I stiffened as a thought crossed it.

“Did we lose anyone?” I finally asked quietly.

I hadn’t seen Will, Paul, or Kirk since I returned from the clinic, but then again, I had stayed longer, even after Dr. Wyatt told me I should go. I didn’t feel right leaving them until the chaos had subsided. I continued to work along with Dr. Wyatt and Paula until they were comfortable handing the reins over.

Troy smiled and shook his head. “Thankfully, no. There’s a few of them that are definitely in critical condition and not out of the woods yet, but SC has an excellent healer with them.”

“How many losses on the other side?” I inquired.

“Twelve.” Remy frowned. “Sixteen injured. Thirty-four captured, including Alison.”

My jaw dropped. “Does Jaxson and Jace know?” I asked quietly.

Remy shook his head. “Not yet. They’ve already had a long day. We don’t need to add to it. They need to enjoy the night. Our people won a battle without us in the thick of it.”

No wonder I hadn’t seen Will, Paul, and Kirk. They probably had their hands full dealing with all that. Troy had already told me that Leo was helping with the transport tomorrow, since his experience with catching fugitives with the FBI gave him the tools to deal with people that shouldn’t be trusted.

We were informed earlier that the techs would be rolling out their new gadgets tonight. They had designed headpieces and gloves for the prisoners. Since most of our gifts manifested from our minds, the headpieces were designed to track our brain waves. Through several brain scans, they were able to determine when our gifts were being conjured. The moment the headpiece felt that part of our brains being activated it would shock the gifted. It wouldn’t kill them, but it was definitely painful. The gloves were for the people that manifested their gifts through their hands. No gift was able to penetrate the technology in the glove.

I really hated the idea of them using them, but I figured it was better than the alternative. Our safety was of utmost importance. It was hard transferring the gifted that was dangerous. If they designed technology that helped the transporters, then so be it, but a part of me felt like it might be opening doors we didn’t want to have opened. I couldn’t help but wonder what the government would do if they found out that this technology existed. What would happen if the law was passed and they deemed all of us dangerous? Would all of us be forced to wear similar technology all the time?

“Where’s Megan?” I asked. I wondered if she k

new her sister was now in the same building as she was.

I was so thankful to have people like Megan, Beth, and Hazel around. They had been taking care of the younger ones all day. I felt terrible that I had only seen the kids in passing, but they didn’t seem terribly phased by it. The three women had been keeping them beyond busy.

Poor Megan, though. I couldn’t imagine being related to and being best friends with someone for so many years, only to have it all fall apart one day. What was the turning point? When did it all start to crumble? If sisters could fall apart to that degree, was there any hope for Jemmy and me? I felt like we were headed down the same path, and I didn’t want that to happen. She was my first real best friend. She had made me feel so comfortable and made my transition into this world more manageable.

I didn’t want to lose her but where did I begin to repair it?

“She’s with Pops, Kirk, and Alison,” Troy confirmed, answering my earlier question.

I looked over at him in confusion. “Why Kirk?”

Troy smirked. “It still surprises me when you don’t do your research on every gifted person you encounter. Don’t you want to know what they can do?”

I gave him an exasperated look. “Of course, I’m curious, and I want to know, but I remember when I was first introduced to the community, I hated when people asked me what I could do. I think it’s horribly intrusive, and I felt like if they wanted to tell me, they would let me know.”