I know it was silly for us to tell them to close their eyes. Afterall, they had already seen them, but they didn’t need to be scarred further.
I closed my eyes reaching deep within. I drew from the anger boiling away in my gut. I held my hand up in a split decision and hoped it worked. I threw a fireball at the old wooden stairs. I watched in satisfaction as the flames hungrily licked at the old wood.
The men cried out in horror, yelling curses. I saw them wavering between the hostages and watching the stairs.
“We need to bring them,” tattoo guy insisted.
“We can’t!” the other man stated before he tried to navigate the stairs going up. “We don’t have time.”
Tattoo man cursed out in frustration. “We need to make the delivery. We need the money!”
“What the hell is going on down there?” one of the men from upstairs called down. “Hey, we need water!” he then called behind him.
The smoke from the stairs assaulted my lungs. I coughed. “Not good,” I muttered.
The kids started to cough, and I felt panic rise within. Protect them, I thought as I heard the hostages begin to hack, too. The wood was producing a lot of smoke, and it only got worse when the men from above tried to douse it out.
I held my hands up and imagined encompassing all of us in a protective shield. Within seconds the shield was erected.
“Now what?” Lincoln asked.
“Now we wait,” I stated as I took a seat next to the boy who I had spoken with earlier.
Jaxson, I called out. I set the house on fire.
I watched in worry as the flames continued to spread.
What, Blake?! What do you mean you set the house on fire? Get out of there! Jaxson called back in worry.
It’s a long story and I can’t, I replied grimly. But don’t worry, I put a shield up.
Why can’t you just leave? Jaxson asked in frustration.
Well…I said ruefully. All the people are drugged, and we can’t leave this house. It’s kind of freaky, I admitted.
It felt like forever before he finally spoke again.
They found you! Hang tight! Jaxson stated. They’re on the way!
“They’re on their way,” I said in relief.
“How are you able to talk to the guys, to me?” Lincoln asked shifting closer to me.
I shrugged. “I began talking to Jaxson years ago. Pops said sometimes connections are able to. It’s a part of our gifts but not, does that make sense?”
He nodded slowly as he gently patted Harry’s back. “Earlier, though, the guys could talk to you like that, and I could hear them, but I wasn’t able to speak. Can they talk to each other, too?”
I shook my head. “Not yet. When I figured out I could read Drake’s projections we worked on it. It’s like a muscle in a way. We let the other guys know, and we came to the realization that we could all talk to each other if I was included in the…link. I don’t know if they’ve been trying to work on it without me included. As far as I know, they're not able to yet.”
The whole time I was talking to him I watched in morbid fascination as the burning floorboards above us gave way, fell, and deflected off the shield. I really hoped help was coming because I was getting tired. I didn’t know how much longer I could last.
Using my gifts nearly all day long was starting to take a toll on me.
“Why couldn’t I respond? How do you do it?” Lincoln asked.
Alex crawled up into my lap, wrapping his little arms around me. His eyes were wide open, watching the flames above. I felt him jump as I pulled him closer.
“You have to really focus on your words. We can’t hear random thoughts, but…we can. Eventually, you won’t have to work as hard on it, and it will come as natural as breathing. Now, my turn for a question. During our exercise today, you were able to jump when you were…still there. How? How did you not lose time, and how do you do it when you're conscious?”