Shocking Memories

Chapter 7

I wasted no time getting up in the morning, and cooking six cans of soup. It required a couple of pans, but it was worth it. I was hungry, but not that hungry. Truth was, I just wanted the cans. After gobbling up some soup I made my way to the roof and set the cans along the railing. I had a much better understanding of my abilities now, but still didn't exactly have a way to defend myself. I needed to change that, especially if I happened to meet those nice gentlemen from the elevator again. Unfortunately the construction site I used last time would be packed with workers, so I had to find another place to practice. The roof would just have to do, and I hoped no one would accidentally stumble up there while I was in the midst of exercising my abilities. I realize that the secret was, more or less, already out, but I saw no need in complicating things further with a citation of some kind.

I had the cans lined up on the rail, like a shooting gallery, and had stepped about twenty feet back, being sure to keep any pieces of furniture out of my line of sight. Didn't want to singe anything. I held my right and out, pointer and middle finger extended, but slightly separated. I wanted to try something new. I focused on my hands, then my fingers. I closed my eyes and tried feeling for the small globs of heat that made up the cans. I knew if I tried matching the heat then the cans would go flying off of the side, and if I tried inverting my heat then the cans would come flying at me. Neither of these options were what I wanted.

I wanted to shoot lightning.

Jared had mentioned that this had been an easy skill for me to master, so maybe I was just overthinking it?

I'd done some research, learned that there were several kinds of lightning. Some came up from the Earth, some came down from the sky, and some met in the middle. The dynamics of each were quite complicated, with the versions coming up from the Earth being the rarest. I was dubious I could emulate all three, but that was something to test another day. For now, I just needed to fire one bolt, from my fingers, to the can. I had to be the source.

I let power charge between my fingers, jolting back and forth, building strength. This took about a minute, longer than I was hoping for in order to get it to a comfortable charge; this I would try to improve upon later. At the same time, I tried stretching the energy I was generating between my fingers, expanding that heat, through the air, bending it toward one of the middle cans. That heat, that energy, reached one of the cans, enveloping it, then, I released the charge I had been building. I opened my eyes and witnessed something wonderful. A streak of blue and purple clapped through the air, creating a strong smell of ozone, as it cracked into the can I had designated. The can was not only knocked off of its perch, but was also blasted in half. I considered, for a moment, that the ledge might not have been the best place, as the can could fall on someone walking below. A fear greatly overshadowed by my desire to celebrate!

I was actually jumping up and down, cheering for joy. I never considered what this might look like to someone passing by, and I'd soon find out.

A noise came from behind me, a rough grunting sound. I spun around, seeing Jared standing there, fist to his mouth as he continued clearing his throat. Once he saw that I was now making eye contact, he looked up and gave me a wave. "Hey there, you alright?"

I nodded vigorously. "Look what I can do now!" I pointed my hand toward one of the cans and went through the same motions I did last time, but faster. To my relief a bolt fired from my fingers, smacking another can off of the ledge, and once more feeling a tinge of regret thinking about the can falling on some poor schmuck.

Jared rubbed his chin approvingly. "Nice, haven't seen the finger guns before, but hey, if it works, right?" He looked around the roof, just now taking note of its intricacies. "What are you doing up here?"