Mutants

Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

I look back at the cafe. The walls that I remember being so white are now char-black, with holes here and there. Apparently, the fire was so painful to look at that Mark blacked out just after we did. Kate, sitting in an ash-covered chair, is still looking at her hand, like she can't believe it. To be fair, I can't, either. Kate says the fire felt hot, cold, tingly, tickling and hurting all at once, which brings me back to our earlier theory: I transferred energy from living, breathing people to Kate's hand, and healed it.

I'm not sure I want to remember how I did it; I don't want to kill people for the sake of healing or power.

My feelings must be leaking, because Kate looks at me with a knowing smile, one filled with loss and disappointment. I realize then, she has burned many more things than I have. She nods. I look at Mark, but he either doesn't hear my thoughts or doesn't care. Usually, though, Mark will tell me I'm leaking. So... Why can Kate hear my thoughts, but not Mark?

I've heard of this before, Kate thinks. Sometimes, a Psychic can permanently link themselves with someone else.

Where'd you hear that? I ask.

Umm... Kate blushes, and a mental guard pops up.

I'll worry about that later. Right now, we're in the middle of the woods, in an abandoned cafe. A while back, we rewired the teleporters to only obey our DNA, but whatever burned down those men and blew off the roof probably obliterated them.

Mark, obviously having reached the same conclusion, says, "We'd better start walking."

I look at Kate, and she nods. She jumps up and hugs me. That was... unexpected.

Great, another thing to lose control of. Wait, did she hear that? She steps back, blushes, and giggles. Yes, she did. I know I fixed her hand, but she's usually more shy.

The leaves crunch under our feet as we walk, down this familiar trail most people don't know about. The soil is wet and soft. Wow, it's been so long since I've smelled wet soil. Speaking of wet... I reach into my bag and hand Kate a wet stick so she doesn't burn the forest down. The plan is to head down to the stream to get more wet sticks, and then head into town.

Kate? I ask. I notice it's easier than normal to enter her mind. Does that mean she's right, that we're permanently bonded?

Yeah? She responds, her thought crystal clear on my head.

Where do you want to stay tonight?

Hmmm, the library sounds good.

The library. That does sound good. The library is in an old ghost town. It's one of the old libraries, one with paper books. Maybe I'll find something about what happened back there.

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This ghost town looks like those 21st-century cities you see in pictures from history textbooks or museums. In fact, I'm sure that's what it is. The houses are faded, but abandoned, and make great places to sleep for the large amount of Mutants that eventually find their way here. However, nobody ever goes to the library, so it's been a favorite place for us to go in a pinch.

An ordinary person would think it strange to see 3 kids of about 16 wandering around a ghost town. However, any Mutant would wonder what town we came from, and offer us food. This is the reason we like this town; it's been a Mutant camp for longer than we've been alive.

Kate has been clinging to me for the entire hour-long walk. Literally. I'm not saying I don't enjoy the attention, but I don't see why she's doing it. She won't get much protection from me, and I don't remember how I repaired her hand earlier.

You really don't get it, do you? It's Mark. I jump, knocking Kate's head off my shoulder.

"Sorry," I say. She hugs my arm and nestles back onto my shoulder.

How...? I stutter.

You've been so focused on shielding yourself from Kate, you forgot about me, Mark says bluntly. I've been watching you two for a while now, and honestly, sometimes I find it hard not to laugh.

What do you mean?

You'll find out on your own, don't worry.

I really want to know what he means, but I vowed to myself long ago to never invade anybody's private thoughts or memories unless absolutely necessary. I guess I'll have to find out on my own.

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We're in the library. It has an old, red and blue carpet that's faded like the rest of this town. Kate has found a copy of Moby Dick and is reading in the corner. You can tell when she comes across an exciting moment because the dust on the shelves turns into embers and launches itself into the air like flaming paratroopers, leaving Kate to brush embers off anything flammable, which is everything except the soles of our shoes. It's actually pretty entertaining to watch, especially when Mark makes fake sparks or a laser pointer dot. Actually, that's probably a real laser, judging by the way he points his finger when it appears.

I pull out a book called The Science of Mutants. I hope it will have the information I need.

Mutants over-produce electricity in their brains. They use this electricity to manipulate the air, light, electrical balance, or temperature around them. Some are weaker than others. All Mutants have increased intelligence and lifespans.

Blah, blah, the stuff everyone already knows. I thumb to the section on Lightbenders.

Lightbenders are rare, because they grow neurons in a pattern that allows them to generate magnetism as well as electricity. They can combine these elements to generate their own light, which is very exhausting, our they can use them to manipulate or "bend" the light around them. Because their abilities are not limited to the visible spectrum of light, many scientists are concerned about the possibility of ultraviolet lasers. They can also manipulate infrared light to escape detection by heat.

Radioactive lasers, huh? I flip to the section on Scorchers.

Scorchers use electricity to create intense vibrations in the surrounding area. The friction from this causes flames to ignite, making them some of the most feared Mutants in existence. When a Scorcher gains full control of their abilities, the flames will stop a millimeter away from their bodies. The reason for this is not yet known, but the most popular theory is that they slow down the friction in that area, causing the matter to condense and creating a barrier of packed molecules that the fire cannot burn.

Huh. So Kate could do that? I go to the section on Psychics.

Psychics are strange and unexplained. They can generate light with their minds and the minds of others to establish telepathic communication. This is accomplished with their telekinesis Telekinesis has yet to be scientifically explained. In some cases, Psychics have formed a permanent link with another individual's mind. This link only seems to form between extremely close individuals, usually lovers. The link also does not use the same physics or rules as their other form of telepathy. In fact, the only evidence of this link is the accounts of the individuals involved. Scientists are worried that a Psychic could communicate directly to the subconscious mind and initiate bodily shutdown.

Scientists are worried that I could reach out, and force somebody to die? This is weird. Suddenly, I hear a crash from the back room. I look up. We're all sitting in one corner of this room.

So who was that?