✓ 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝘁 ↣ 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐡𝐚𝐧

PART: 29

I stood at the corner of the hall with my hand resting on the turn. Landon came out of the Meeting Room with his face blank. It was a meeting I wasn't invited to and didn't know about. Shortly after that, Simon, Steven and Christina walked out. Then Richard and Owen. What was so important? I've been told everything else? Is there some kind of secret I'm missing?

I knock on the wall before entering the sliding door. "Come in, Rowen," Charles says.

"What was that about?" I ask.

He has manilla folders sprawled out on the table. He organizes papers and sets them in the correct stack. "Nothing really."

"Oh."

"You didn't miss something important if that's what you're asking," he says. He closes one folder and sets it aside. "It's just you're here to train and I have to draw the line somewhere for you being exposed to all this information."

I have many questions about who the woman was and how did they detect the attack. Where was everyone else? I wanted to kill the green fucker but he didn't show his face. "I've been to meetings before," I say.

"That's exactly my point. You're just a kid and this is sensitive buisness you don't need to be exposed to."

I sit down in the chair right in front of Charles. He's standing up with his back hunched, squinting his eyes at the papers he's sorting out. He licks his fingers, then separates two papers that were stuck together.

Maybe it's best I don't know this information. I always seem to stress myself out on everything that I know. I need to stay a trainee and not be in everyone's buisness. Let me leave it up to them. I'd hate to be Landon. He's not much older than us and he's put under intense pressure. He's always working, never having fun.

He should be going out to parties, getting drunk, having sex and waking up the next morning not knowing what happened.

"Can you tell me about Landon?" I say, crossing my hands together.

"You already know him," says Charles.

"But I don't know know him."

"He's a smart ass for starters. He is a responsible, respectful young man. I raised him that way and I couldn't be prouder."

"What happened with his parents?"

The question made Charles's eyes close and he sighed like he dug up something buried from a long time ago. He pulls out the desk chair, seating himself. "Don't tell him I told you this," he says quietly and sternly.

"I won't."

He sighs again. "At a young age, Landon started showing his abilities and it wasn't on purpose. He would just dissapear and his parents would look for him, calling his name. He would say I'm right here and of course they couldn't see him. Then his body would be shown and they flipped out. They thought it was part of the Devil's work. It worsened when Landon showed his other ability."

"What is that ability?" I ask.

"Healing," Charles says. Landon's touch was the best feeling I have ever experienced. His hands were just the right amount of cold and hot. When he held them when they were bruised, they felt better. That's why the pain went away. And when he put his hand on my shoulder, it was nothing but bliss.

"If he were to touch someone for a period of time, he can heal any wound. His mother accidentally cut herself with a knife while cooking dinner. Landon held her arm and once he let go, it was healed. His father, my brother, dropped Landon off at my house and they never returned. Landon and I were close before so it wasn't a problem. What made it difficult is when Landon would ask me why his parents hated him. Why they left him. He would cry and cry and there was nothing I could do."

"The only thing I could tell him is that he was special and that his parents never hated him. They simply didn't understand."

Sounds like me and my parents. The distant relationship is caused from me being different. I feel for Landon. I can't imagine at that young age your parents just leaving you and never returning because you were different. Landon was harmless. He wasn't setting fires or blowing up things like I was. It would be amazing to have a kid with those kind of abilities.

"As Landon grew up, I would discuss the matter with Reese. We were long time friends and I knew that there were more out there like Landon. Later we found out about Chloe's powers and I was sure there had to be more out there like them. So we searched and created this facility to keep these kids safe. To make them feel like they have a purpose. Most of them are outcasts, hopeless, picked on, delinquents more in your case." I roll my eyes. "These talents weren't brought to you to cause trouble even though it may seem as a burden. You all are so special and these powers are made to be used for the greater good of the world."

I trace my finger on the table. Landon was a lonely boy. A walking vessel filled with solitude. We have more in common than I thought. "Does he have any friends?" I ask.

"I'm afraid not. He was very quiet in school. He didn't really talk much. He did have a girlfriend at one point in time but it didn't last long. He's a good young man, Rowen. It may seem he's a bit rough on you, but he does care. And more particularly about you."

I chuckle. "You haven't seen us together. It's a bomb waiting to go off."

"I imagine so," Charles smiles.

********

"Is this a good idea?" I ask. Landon ties the blindfold to my head.

"Yes, this way you can focus on what I tell you and not get distracted," he says. He seals the knot. It pulls strands of my hair back. The room is now black.

I feel like I know Landon on a different level now. He's alone and I imagine he wants someone to care about him like Charles does. I care about him. At first, I wasn't sure. I only found him attractive. I didn't know him as the person he is. Not only is he attractive, he's a caring guy. A lonely heart floating in the sky.

He's put on a tough skin to not get hurt. A suit of armor to protect his young heart for no more damage.

I have four hours to do this right. Classes were today and so my schedule was off track. "Shoot what's in front of you," Landon says. Before I was blind folded, he placed a dummy ahead of me.

"What if I miss?" I ask. I'm not feeling very confident with my vision being blocked off.

"You won't." I feel his chest come to my back. My body gets hot. He's the only guy that could ever make me feel this way. There's something about him that makes me feel safe and comfortable. He turns me slightly to the side, then lifts my arms a few inches forward to the target.

I flick my hands out. Nothing happens. I'm waiting for my power surge to come play. I flick them some more with Landon behind me.

"You're distracting me," I say.

"Am I too close to you?" he says. I don't need my sight to know that he's grinning and that he meant it in a flirtatious manner. He can't see me roll my eyes. He moves away from me. I try again with pushing my hands forward.

"It's not working," I say. "It only happens when I'm scared or angry. Mostly angry."

"You need to learn a good balance of both. If you use anger to use your power then half the time it won't work."

"Great...."

I spent another ten minutes flicking my hands. I even tried doing moves like the Last Air Bender and moving my hands to the dummy. None of that worked. Eventually Landon put my hands down.

"We'll work on it," he says.