Chapter 14
We walked towards the forest but stopped near it and stayed in the yard. The kids were off by the shed playing with some crickets. There were over a dozen dummies set up around that area of the yard, all in different spots. Some were hanging in the trees around us. Nearby on the outskirts of the yard stood a fire hydrant with a hose already attached.
Courtney noticed the hydrant, “Um, why that?”
I shrugged, “To put out the fires I start.”
A surprised look crossed her face, “Oh, joy. Forest fires. Are those normal for you?”
I shook my head, “Not really. The fire doesn’t spread that quick, and since it’s been raining, it’ll take a very long time for it to get that big. I just use it for to put out the dummies so I can reuse them, or put out a tree so it doesn’t burn down.”
She nodded as if that made sense.
Ashley sat down at the base of the thick maple tree behind us and Courtney followed suit. Michael stood there with his hands still in his pockets, his face completely expressionless.
I walked over to him, “You sure you want to see this? You don’t seem okay.”
He quickly shook his head again, “No, just this is a lot to take in at once. I’ve known you for a while and never knew about this, that’s all.”
I sighed and put my hand on his shoulder, “I know, and I’m sorry. I didn’t tell anyone until Ashley accidentally did her power to me, so I showed her mine. I just wasn’t sure how you’d take it.”
He took his left hand out of his pocket and put it on mine, “I’m fine with it. I’m kind of curious actually. Just don’t hit me, okay?” He smiled at the question, so I knew he was joking.
I lightly punched his arm when Ashley became impatient, “Come on Haila I want to see some pretty lights!”
Sighing to myself I picked the closest target on the ground, about twenty feet away. It was nothing more than a plank of wood staked in the ground with a flour sack stuffed with more flower sacks put on the wood. There were two other stuffed sacks as the arms, and a smaller sack on top with a painted face on it.
I held up my hand in the direction of the dummy. My hand glowed white and a burst of light shot from my hand like a bullet and went at the dummy. Hitting the chest of the dummy it left only a burn mark.
I heard Ashley yawn, “Boring. Come on, Haila, I know you can do better than that!”
I did two punches at the dummy and two more shots of light went at it. Each shot hit an eyeball, turning the eyes charcoal black.
Ashley spoke again, “Aw come on! I wanted to see a show and I’m seeing nothing!”
Becoming slightly annoyed at her picking I did a forward step with my right foot, twisted on it to my left and brought my left leg around in a high arc, sending a slanted beam of light at the target. The left half of the target fell to the ground.
I turned around and looked at them, hoping Ashley was finally satisfied. Courtney had a surprised look and glanced up at me, as if she was unsure what to think. Michael was looking at me just as surprised. Ashley yawned and put her hand over her mouth, “Better, but not what I was hoping for. I thought you were supposed to be great!”
