Chronicles of the Unknowns: Genesis

Chapter 31

I woke up to Hunter nudging me. 

"We should go eat now." 

 Rubbing my eyes, I sat up with a sigh. I felt more relaxed than I had in a long time. By the look on Hunter's face, it looked like he could tell. 

"The water must be good for you," he commented. 

 "I guess so," I said with a nod. 

When we got to the dining hall it was in full swing. There were hoards of people standing in buffet lines, but surprisingly everything went quickly. We both loaded our plates up with food and found a table to sit at. I tried to eat everything I'd gotten, but I was full sooner than I thought I'd be. Hunter ended up finishing my plate for me.

"We should make the most out of this. I doubt we'll ever get the chance to do it again," Hunter said as we headed to the deck. The sun was just beginning to set on the horizon and it splayed out a wide array of colors against the water. 

"You should use this to your advantage."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You're the only person on this planet that can control water with your mind alone and here we are in the middle of the ocean. There's no one here more dangerous than you," he replied.

I looked back out at the water. Even now, I could feel it calling to me. The ocean stretched on for miles, and I had a mental map of it. I could sense the sea creatures that moved about. I could even feel the ocean floor.

Although I didn't want to be seen as dangerous, I knew Hunter was right. This entire boat could sink to the bottom of the and never come back to the top if that's not what I wanted to happen. I could freeze a large portion of this body of water without any effort if I chose to.

"You had us take this route for more than safety reasons didn't you?" I asked.

"I just want you to be okay before we really get started. I know you've still got a lot of weight on your shoulders. And I know how much your father's death hurts you," he said after a moment.

His words flipped a switch in me. I was back in that room and Pa had the gun aimed at me while Myra taunted him. She'd waited until after he pulled the trigger to deflect the bullet and send Pa flying with her power. But he was up like nothing had even happened. The threw punches and wrestled each other for that gun, but somehow in the struggle it went off and a bullet had gone right through Pa's chest.

Myra hadn't even hesitated before she shoved the gun under his chin and shot him.

I flinched at the memory. My breath hitched as it played over and over again in my mind. Tears began rolling down my cheeks and all I could register was that I was sobbing so hard it gave me hiccups. The last time I'd cried like this was the moment Pa died and the emotional trauma had brought my power back. This time it made the entire boat rock violently in the middle of the ocean. 

"I'm right here. You're okay," Hunter said as he held me close. 

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew that I should stop before I tip the entire ship over, but I couldn't. All I could see was my father's dying moments and regret every memory that I wish I had. I cried because I felt sorry for him. I cried because we never got the chance to reconcile our relationship. I cried because deep down I knew that even if he lived until the end of my life that we never would have reconciled anyway.

It felt like my heart was literally breaking. It was like someone took an arrow and shot it through my chest, making my heart shatter into a million pieces. When I was finally able to compose myself, I realized everyone except for Hunter and me was in a tizzy. No one really seemed to notice us. They were too concerned about the ship.