Shimmer *The Seattle Superheroes*

Chapter Nineteen: A Word of Kindness

Chapter Nineteen: A Word of Kindness

Seattle; July 3, 2010; 4:02 p.m.

Humans are social creatures, that much is certain. It's more than a primal, herd-based mentality; they crave socialization. There is something that never quite feels right about being alone, no matter who you are. Throughout life, most humans are searching for some person—just one person—who understands them. Having someone like that can make the most dismal situations seem bearable.

Because of this and despite the happenings of that day, Shimmer felt more at ease than she had in a long time as she walked into the ISDA headquarters next to Nash.

On the walk back, Shimmer and Nash had discussed one of the possible uses for Nash's ability—it would allow him to converse with someone without anyone else hearing. Of course, this was not how Nash phrased it.

The idea was that Shimmer, or whoever Nash was trying to talk to, would think something directed at him, which would be easy for him to hear. To reply, all Nash would have to do was place an illusion of his voice in their mind. He wasn't sure whether or not he could transfer thoughts to someone else, but it was something they planned to work on.

By the time that the two of them were walking through the bustling Atrium, they had yet to test this new method of conversation. Shimmer had suggested that they, in the words of Nash, jump in the deep end instead of taking it one step at a time, so they had waited until they were in a busy area. Now, Nash was doing his best not to focus on Shimmer, and Shimmer was waiting for a random moment to tell him something without using his name.

They managed to snag a spot in a crowded elevator—number two—and stood in opposite corners. Normally, the closeness of the people in the elevator would have had Shimmer on edge, but the awaiting trial had captured her full attention.

Between floors three and four, Shimmer took her chance.

Ask the man in front of you for the time, she thought, focusing on Nash.

Shimmer mentally crossed her fingers. It had been a longer thought, which might have bee—

"Hey, man," Nash's voice said from the other side of the elevator. "What time is it?"

"Four o' five."

Shimmer couldn't keep the smile off of her face, which only grew when she heard Nash's voice, as clearly as if he were standing right next to her.

"That was amazing."

None of the other passengers seemed to have heard him, but Shimmer wanted to prove it to herself.

Say something ridiculous, just so I can be sure this is real.

Without question, in her head alone, Nash's voice began screaming about how he hated elevators and was claustrophobic, and he needed to be let out, now.

Shimmer managed to school her face into its normal emotionless mask, but there was laughter caught in her throat. No one else in the elevator so much as smiled.

I have to say, this is rather amusing.

"Yep."

A moment passed in silence before Nash's voice came again.

"So then, how about you and I head to Vegas and hit the poker tables?"

I believe that's called 'cheating.'

"And... you're point is?"

Shimmer shook her head slightly, without thinking about it. It wasn't as if Nash would even need her to cheat at poker.