the game

luke

i wait for the bell to ring to run up to the professor. "sir," i begin hesitantly.

"yes," he's already annoyed by me.

"so, are healers able to transfer power?" i gulp as the words come out. the man looks up at me.

"very rarely," and then he continues scrolling through his tech screen.

"and how do i control it?" i ask, and maybe too fast because the little professor stands up to his fullest height.

"you can transfer energy?" the little man looks smaller and more like a pigeon as the moments pass. i step backwards uncomfortably.

"well i'll be," he looks elated. "we will have to transfer you to the transferring healers specific classes. don't worry it'll only shift your schedule a little. you're a healer after all," he's so excited that he's shaking.

"let me think, who do i need to call first," he is scrolling through options on the holographic image projected from his watch. he bights on his nail nervously and clicks a contact. he pulls out one of the earbuds from the watch and plugs it into his ear.

"hello," he begins as he slowly pushes me towards the door, mouthing that well talk later. i, in much confusion, begin the treck to my room. it's the last class of the day. what happens to me now?

there's a horrible sinking feeling growing in my bones. why did that little man look so excited? what do they do with healers who transfer energy. i'm shaking. this should be a good thing, so why do i feel this way?

and that's when the image of ken's mom hooked up to a machine comes to mind. that's when the image of a healer connecting her to the table. administering the immobilizing shot. me, i'm capable of killing too. and that is what's killing me now.

i always knew that my hands were made differently. that i'm able to control things and manipulate things that shouldn't be. i'm a healer, that should be normal. but when that creature absorbed into me i knew it. that's the line. i was something else too. maybe that was the moment it began to sink in. the images my brain didn't want me to think about started gnawing me alive. maybe that was it. this is it. i'm a certified killer now. and if the government finds out they can use me, who knows how many people i'll have to kill.