"You used that word once before," I remembered. "In the cafeteria."
"You did what, Hannah?" Mr. Jones asked.
"She didn't understand what it meant," Hannah protested.
"And I still don't," I pointed. "Not really, anyway."
"No?" Hannah asked. "All right then, guess. What do you think it means?"
"It's a...it's a name for people like me. People like...like us, I suppose," I said, remembering what she'd shown me. "How did you do that, anyway?"
She shrugged. "It's like...I have this sort energy inside of me that I can call upon and sort of manipulate in certain ways. So I...I basically asked it do as I wished, and, well you saw, didn't you?"
"I saw your hand glowing," I said. "But how-"
"Because I manipulated in such a way that would create an illusion of light," she said. "That's why it looked like it was glowing. But the light itself-it wasn't real."
"An illusion," I repeated.
Hannah nodded. "Yes. That's what I can create."
I felt an odd feeling of happiness rush through me. But, a moment later, it faded.
I tilted my head and looked at Hannah questioningly. "Did you do that?"
"Uh-huh," she said. "I could make you feel something else, too. Anything, really. Fear, hate, disgust, jealousy, anger..."
"Pleasant," I muttered. "Really, really pleasant."
"But, as you just witnessed, I can create positive emotions, too. Happiness, excitement, stuff like that," she added. "If I really tried, I could make you do things you would never have done on your own. I could make you see things that weren't really there."
I shivered.
"I could also create an illusion of noise, like making you think you heard your favorite song or someone's voice or something," she continued. "But that doesn't matter. Because I have the potential to use it...use this power, which I never asked for and most definitely never wanted, I am dangerous. I am a threat."
"A threat to who?" I asked, though I was pretty sure I already knew the answer.
"Everyone else," Mr. Jones said. "The rest of the world who was lucky enough to avoid becoming a Star Child-which, by the way, is a name referring to individuals such as yourself and my daughter, individuals that, at some point in their lives, changed from a so-called normal, natural human being to one bearing otherworldly power."
"That's ridiculous," I said. "Even if there are others-"
"There are," Mr. Jones.
I blinked. "Wait, what?"
"There are others," he repeated. "I can't be sure how many, but...at least a couple hundred or so."
"A couple hundred?" I asked.
Hannah nodded. "At least."
"Fine, then," I said. "That's a couple hundred people out of the billions on this planet. Billions. How could any of them-us-ever cause real damage to that many people?"
Mr. Jones reached for something in the passenger seat-a tablet. He passed it back to Hannah.
"Show her, will you?" he asked.
Hannah swallowed. "Do I have-"
"Hannah."
"Okay," she said, and squished her thumb on the power button.
YOU ARE READING
Born of starlight and shadows
FantasyStella hasn't ever exactly been "normal." Not by a long shot. But-mental problems and friend problems aside-there's something else. One really specific thing that's been gnawing on her insides for so long, convincing her that she's alone. Definitely...