Tomorrow's Way

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Seraphine kept her face blank as she looked around at the group of strangers that surrounded her. It was so odd to her that they were willing to take her in. But maybe that’s just what they did. They were like a camp for orphan kids with strange powers.

They all sat waiting for her to give a demonstration. Some watched her with curiosity, while others looked at her with uninterested. Juliette didn’t seem at all interested in Seraphine’s ability. She actually seemed appalled that the others were so intrigued by the newcomer.

Giving in to their persistent stares, Seraphine closed her eyes. Maybe she could scare them off and they would leave her alone.

Having no idea how to control her curse, Seraphine thought about the times she had used it before. Every other time that her power had come to the surface, she had been either scared or angry. With her father, she had been scared. But in another case, she had been angry at a man that had taken her in and later beaten his wife. Emotions seemed to be the trigger of it all.

After deciding that she had to channel an emotion, Seraphine picked the most prominent one in her at that moment. She took the anxiety she had tried to push away, bringing it instead to the surface. She focused on that and on the feeling it brought to the back of her neck. Seraphine’s hair stood up, her previous anxiety only amplifying when she heard whispering near her.

“Ow.” Alice said from across the circle. Seraphine opened her eyes, watching as the little girl clasped a hand over a spot on her arm. Samuel carefully took her hand away, revealing a small spot on her arm that had been blackened slightly by something.

It faded quickly when Samuel placed his hand over it, but it wasn’t a second later that Theo made another sound. Seraphine looked next to her, the appearance of another, larger, black spot on his arm making her breath catch in her throat.

“I thought you couldn’t control it?” Theo asked her. Seraphine shook her head, staring down at the spot on his arm.

“I can’t.” She told him, her anxiety only growing with every second. Before Theo could say anything else, another spot had appeared on Dylan’s hand, only this one was bigger and seemingly more painful.

“Interesting. It seems that you possess the ability to conduct electricity.” Samuel told her as he observed Theo’s arm, healing it. He did the same to Dylan, but by then another had appeared on Juliette.

“Okay, we get it. You can shock people,” Juliette said, a sneer on her face as she rubbed at the spot on her wrist, “You can stop now.”

“I can’t. I told you I couldn’t control it.” Seraphine answered. She tried to focus on another emotion, something happier, but she couldn’t do it. The elevating situation only increased her anxiety. She knew staying with them would get her trouble.

“Seraphine, just think of something happy; think of something that will soothe you.” Samuel told her from her stood next to Juliette. She tried again, furrowing her eyebrows.

“It’s not working.” She replied. Seraphine rubbed her hand, staring at her lap as she searched for something happy to pull her out of it. Next to her, Oliver reached over and took her hand. There was a scorch mark on his hand, but he seemed to be ignoring it.

“It’s fine, Seraphine. You’re safe here.” He told her, smiling. In seconds, her anxiety was gone. Whatever ability he had, he could control it well.

Silence washed over the group. It only lasted less than a minute, but it made Seraphine squirm under the wide eyed gazes. Oliver's hand never left hers. Seraphine thought that must've been a part of his power, just like he had made her feel more comfortable when she woke up in the tent.