Grace Feckterhight

Chapter Twenty

After a few moments, we stood to leave and catch up with the others. He had a bit of struggle getting up off the ground, but I was able to heave him from the floor. We pushed through the doors and began our long journey down fifty flights of stairs.

Quickly, I noticed something was off. The walls.. were covered in color.

On the way down, Chief must have asked the Colored if they could show her how to find her color. If you were any part Colored, whether it was one percent or one hundred, you could produce unlimited amounts of color.

So they must have taught her. The stairwell walls were coated in the five that I recognized, my mother's deep purple included. Then there was a sixth: A vibrant, lime green.

"I guess Chief's color is lime." I said, taking another step down. We passed a sign for the 42nd floor.

"I guess so." He said, right ahead of me. He touched the lime-coated wall to our right.

"Wait, Grace." He stopped and turned to look at me. He took my hands. "So, your color comes from your heart, right?"

My heart rate was rising. I looked up at him, my eyes still alight. "Yes?"

"And anyone with any sort of Colored heritage can make it?"

"Yes!" I said with rising enthusiasm.

"Maybe.. you could help me find my color?" His eyes were bright with hope.

I beamed, my most genuine smile all day. "I'll show you."

"Okay first, close your eyes." He did. "Now, there's a power deep within you. It hides with your soul. It emerges from your soul to your heart, and that's where it becomes physical. Once you can truly feel it coming into existence, and you feel it gathering in your heart, that's when you can call it to your hands. Once it's physical, it's really easy to control. You simply have to ask."

"Got it?" I finished. His hands were still wrapped around mine.

"Yes." I peeked to see if he was being serious. There wasn't a trace of humor in his expression.

"Good. Now. Mentally, politely, ask your soul to provide you with color."

Moments passed. My color finally decided to speak. You've done very well. And this will absolutely work if he's any part Colored.

I mentally smiled and replied, I know.

Slowly, I opened my eyes. I whispered to him, "Do you feel it?"

He whispered back. "Yes."

"Is it gathering in your heart?"

"Yeah. It's dripping in."

"That's good. That's how it starts. Keep your focus. Now, once you feel that you have enough, ask your heart to pump your color through your veins and into your hands."

He let go of my hands, and his tropical red crab began to trickle in the center of his palms. He opened his eyes and looked at me. They were the brightest red I'd ever seen.

He gathered more and more, until it was dripping to the floor. "Feckter! Look!"

I grinned, glad that he could do it. "You're doing it! Okay, bring your hands together and form a sphere."

He clasped his hands together way too quickly, and his color splattered everywhere. In my face, in his bright red eyes, onto the walls. Slowly, smiles grew on our faces. I quickly gathered some Carribean teal and made a collection of arrows. I asked that the tips would be soft, so that they wouldn't hurt him, even if I accidently threw them.