Supernatural Abilities

Chapter Four - The Encounter

It's not hard to sneak out when your father is an alcoholic and doesn't care what you do or where you go anymore. Grabbing a jacket and my keys, I headed out in the cool night around thirty minutes before I was supposed to be there. The sky was already dark as summer was over now, so the air was crispier than usual. However, the walk was nice and comforting. Some might think that going out by yourself at night is dangerous but in a town where everyone knows each other, it's pretty safe.

Once I arrived at the school I headed up to the front steps to wait for Cole to show. I was here pretty early so I sat down on the steps and leaned against the front door. To my surprise, it slid out from under me and flew open. Cole must already be here.

Walking through the empty hallway was kind of surreal. Eerie, in a way. I called out his name several times but never got a response in return. I finally decided to head to the cafeteria, hoping that he would be there because it's such a central part of the school.

Once I reached the lunchroom and walked inside, I saw a single figure sitting with their back turned to me. In the moon-lit room, it was hard to see any kind of features but I saw dark hair and who else would be at the high school late at night?"

"Cole?" I called out and the person stood up rather quickly. In the brief moment it took for them to turn around, a cold wave rushed through my body.

The person wasn't Cole and despite the dark room, even I couldn't miss the pitch black eyes. This must be one of those Catchers I was told about.

I had initially expected some sort of monster-thing when he described them. After all, they're the enemy so they must look disgusting, right? But they looked human. The only part different was the eyes that were very unnerving to look into.

"So you're the new Supernatural," they spoke in a chilling voice that sounded almost robotic. "We finally felt you today. We have had suspicions about this area for a while now, but nothing was confirmed until this morning. You must have realized your potential, what you can really do, right?"

Gulping, I began stepping back without saying a word. I kept my eyes on them as a creepy smile spread across their cheeks.

"So what are you?" they asked. "Fire?" They started walking closer to me. "Water?" Another step. "Air?" They kept getting closer and closer. "Earth, perhaps?"

With every ounce of power and adrenaline I had, I flipped one of the lunch tables toward the Catcher and turned to run.

"Ahhh," I heard behind me, seeming unfazed by the fact a table hit them. "You're a Mind."

I sprinted through the halls and I knew they were following close behind. I took the chance to peek behind me and see they were really close. Without another thought, I turned around and threw my hands out in front of me focusing on time, just as I did with the day my mother died. When I opened my eyes, the Catcher was moving slower so I ran ahead to try to find a place to hide because slowing down time for a long period would only exhaust me.

I finally found an unlocked science room so I ran and hid in the corner behind some desks and breathed out as I felt the power slip from me and time turn normal again for everyone. Trying to control my breathing, I kept my eyes on the door hoping the Catcher couldn't figure out that I was in here.

My heart was pounding in my chest as I struggled to stay quiet while someone creaked through the school. My eyes widened when I saw some mist swirling from underneath the door as if someone had opened a freezer as I peeked from the corner. I wanted to make a break for the open window behind me but I knew that they would hear as soon as I moved a single inch.