Beyond Control

18

The cafeteria was silent after I sent Riker crashing into the other side of the room. He didn't move, so I instantly turned to Emily, who was struggling to get to her feet. After helping her up, Emily's eyes widened. 

"Duck!" 

I ducked to the ground, and one of the cafeteria chairs crashed against the wall. Turning to the source, Riker's hand was igniting a purple flame as his cheek dripped a line of blood. Trying to keep the nervousness at bay, I stepped before Emily, lowered into a defensive stance, and tried to sound confident. 

"It's pointless to fight over something so insignificant."

Riker's eyebrows furrowed. "Do you think I fucking care? We're on our own. There are no parents to tell us what to do. We settle this like men." 

"Like men?" I countered. "This is more like babies fighting over a toy."

His eyes widened in surprise before the flames grew in size. He reached in my direction, and I felt all the muscles in my body immensely tense. Riker, with clenched fingers, threw his palm to the ground. My body reacted in the same motion as his hand, landing chest-first with a thud to the floor. I grunted, trying to get up, but it felt like a giant invisible hand was squeezing my body. 

Emily rushed to my side. "Eli!"

Whispers could be heard around me. What was this power? 

Riker slowly stepped forward. My body was locked in place, refusing to move no matter how much I tried. He lifted my head by putting his heel on my forehead. My eyes drifted to his flexed hand, still controlling my body.

Leaning down, he spoke threateningly. "Let me tell you something. You will always be beneath me. If you ever mess with either of us again, I promise I'll make you regret it." 

He released his foot from my forehead and spat next to where I was lying. Riker's hand relaxed, and my body was released from his grasp.  As the twins started to walk away, Haley turned around and smiled victoriously at us before joining her brother. 

Everyone's eyes were on us while Emily helped me to my feet. Anger suddenly coursed through my body as I started to go after him, but Emily grabbed my arm. 

"Don't," she warned. I turned to her. Her eyes were locked onto mine, which instantly helped me calm down. "It's not worth it. I'm sure you'll have opportunities to get back at him, but you're better than him. Be the better person."

I huffed and joined Emily back at our table. After we sat down, I noticed after a couple of minutes that she was still holding her chest. "Are you okay? That was quite a shot." 

"I think I'll be fine," she responded while wincing. "I don't understand how it didn't hurt worse. I  was struck point-blank with lightning. Shouldn't I be much more in pain?" 

I furrowed my eyebrows in thought before shaking my head. "This is just a theory, but do you think our abilities may give us greater bodily strength? You're right though, a point-blank strike by lightning should be enough to at least severely injure someone. I'm thankful that you're okay." 

Emily's eyes thoughtfully drifted over to where the twins were sitting. Haley seemed to be talking Riker's ears off, much to his displeasure. It looked like he barely tolerated his sister. "What kind of power do you think he has?" 

"I have no idea," I answered. "You could guess that it's some form of gravity manipulation." 

She met my gaze. Her brown eyes reflected the light illuminating the room. They were beautiful. "That doesn't explain the purple flames, but I can't think of anything else."