Thunder and Storm

The Big Dipper

SALLY.



I sat in the bleachers watching the others argue. Cameron, Ryan, Rayne, Gail, and a few of the others were standing a few feet away discussing my eviction. Lying to them about my power was wrong and I had hurt a lot of people when I had lost control but Gail was taking it too far. It was almost like she hated me. Petra, I would expect to be Team Kick Sally Out but she wasn’t even here. Gail had been friendly towards me, I had thought that she liked me. Maybe I was wrong about her or maybe she was just scared of me like everyone else. A lot of them seemed to be Team Kick Sally Out.

Cameron was gesticulating wildly. His face was tight with fury as he spoke; the veins on his temple stood out. I couldn’t hear what he was saying but from the look on his face, I didn’t think things were going in my favor. I wished I could hear what they were saying but I was no telepath and I certainly didn’t have bionic ears.

I sighed and looked up at the stars. Out on the football field, they were twinkling brightly. I couldn’t believe in all my years in this school, I had never been to the football field or watched a game once. I had missed a lot. The stars were much clearer out here and the sky looked beautiful tonight. I once had a telescope back home and Riven used to come over for sleepovers. We would both stare at the stars and try to connect the dots. And then he had broken the telescope while we had been playing a game of twister. He had taught me a lot about astronomy.

I raised my hand and tried to find The Big Dipper. I was in the process of connecting the dots when Ryan’s voice rose above everyone else’s. I didn’t hear what he said but it got my attention. I stared at them, wishing I could hear them and a thought occurred to me, I could. I did have telepathy. At least one good thing came out of losing control of myself, I now had Petra’s ability. I focused on their conversation and Ryan’s voice carried over to me.

“Sally is not the main issue we should focus on here, we have a mole in our midst,” he said. “How did they find the cave? None of you noticed it was quite strange how they knew exactly where we were?”

“They found us because of Sally. The whole world would’ve noticed that kind of seismic activity. Anyone with the right equipment and at the right time could pinpoint our exact location and those people certainly had the perfect equipment to find us. I’m telling you she’s dangerous, she led them straight to us,” Gail countered.

“No, you idiot. She didn’t. Someone else did and I can tell you exactly who it was,” said Ryan.

“Don’t call me an idiot, you buffoon.”

“You both need to stop bickering,” Cameron cautioned then he faced Ryan. “Who’s the mole?”

“It’s Grayson. He seems to always have a solution for everything, things he shouldn’t know about and today he wasn’t at the cave when we got attacked, and by some sort of miracle he’s here at the school.”

“Didn’t you think maybe you didn’t see him because everyone was trying to find safety? You can hardly fault the guy for not being in your line of sight at all times,” Rayne said.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder and I jumped. Grayson was staring down at me with an amused look on his face. He sat beside me, crossed his legs in front of him, and rested his back on the seat behind him with his hands behind his head in a carefree manner. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“Nothing. I’m just waiting for the final verdict from the jury.” I jutted my chin towards the group of people who were still arguing.

He snorted. “I wouldn’t worry about them. They can’t do anything to you. And if they do decide to kick you out, I  know a place we can go.”

“Really?” I found that strange. “Why didn’t you go there instead of coming here then?”

“Well I was heading there and then I found Rayne and the rest and they invited me over. Going with them seemed more fun than being on my own.”

Of course he’d decide to do something like that. He was all for the fun, even the dangerous ones.

“Besides,” he continued, “If I had done that then I wouldn’t have met you.” He gave me a crooked grin and I blushed. He could be a charmer when he wanted to be. I was sure nothing about me was that interesting to wanna stay here.

He looked at me, really looked at me and the intensity of his gaze had me spellbound. “I’ve never met any Enhanced as powerful as you and they’re scared of that power. They’re afraid of you, that’s why they reject you but I see you, Sally. I see the real you and I know the real you because we’re the same. Children of the Dark.”

“That’s nice of you to say,” I swallowed.

He dropped his legs and sat up. “That’s just the thing, I’m not saying it just to be nice. God knows there’s nothing nice about me. You can’t control your powers and you keep hurting people because you’re scared. You’re scared of that power but it’s not a bad thing.” He looked down at his palms and sighed.

A wave of thick black smoke appeared around his right hand. “The first time I found out about my ability, I was twelve. I’ve always loved being in the dark and found it peaceful, comfortable. A lot of people didn’t understand why I hated the light. There was always a dark energy around me that pushed people away, hence I was alone and lonely all the time.” His eyes got sad as he spoke, his brows pulling together.

I could picture the sad little kid he was and I felt connected to him somehow. “What about your parents?”

He scoffed. “I don’t remember my mom, she died in an accident when I was five. My father is not exactly the caring type and he was always away on business trips.”

I felt bad for him. He really had been alone. At least my parents were always there for me and they showered me with love, too much love even. He turned his palm over and the smoke became a black bird flapping its wings.

“As a result of this, I was easy prey for bullies. I was bullied a lot. The first time my power manifested, I killed someone. The school bully, Billy Hanson. It was at the back of the school gym after school. The rest of his crew had been so scared, they never said a word about it to anyone. That was just the beginning, it only got worse after that. It almost drove me mad before I could control it. I feared it too and a lot of people suffered for that fear.

“Your power doesn’t control you, Sally, you do. The moment you stop being scared of that power is the moment you’ll finally be able to control it.” The bird became a black rose and he handed it to me. I took it and lifted it to my nose but it had no smell. It was like a plastic rose except it felt like a real rose with soft petals.

His words hit me to the core. I wanted to believe him but we were two different people. He was stronger than me and he was fearless. I had a lot of things to be afraid of.

He grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers. “Be fearless, Sally.”

Ryan’s words niggled at the back of my mind. Was there really a mole among us? Was that mole Grayson? I looked over at them and found Cameron looking straight at me. He was too far away for me to see the look in his eyes but he didn’t look too happy. I took my hand out of Grayson’s and stood up.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“I need to use the restroom.” I gave him back the rose. It wasn’t a lie, I did need to use the restroom but it was also a chance for me to clear my head.