Magic

Magic, it was the only thing he had thought of since birth. They called 'real magic' fictional. But he knew different. He didn't know why he could do the things he could do. Well, he called it magic, when others would probably be more comfortable with 'psychic' or 'telekinetic'. But to him it was magic.

The doctors had noticed something was different about him at the very moment he was born. His eyes were wide open as he had appeared. But that wasn't what surprised them. It was the fact his eyes were a deep shade of red. At his christening two months later, the priest, upon catching sight of him, started spouting out biblical verses, calling him "Devil child". But of course being two months old at the time he had just laughed and burbled at this.

Upon entering primary school he was excluded almost instantly. In fact it was the first day when the teacher had been taking attendance. "Connor". Instantly all eyes were on him. The stranger of the group. He wore a blank, expressionless face. With black hair and normal features Connor didn't stand out in any way. His only defining feature was his ruby eyes. But that was enough for any particularly mean spirited child.

Connor wasn't particularly smart or good at sports. If it hadn't been for the red eyes he would have been labelled the definition of normal. Yet at the age of ten Connor discovered another quirk that set him apart from the rest. His talent for telekinesis. Connor had discovered this unique quirk in a rather enthusiastic playground fight.

After being bullied by Mike Welland for several months now, he had finally taken a stand. Obviously with him not being physically impressive or even having a knowledge of martial arts at all, he got beat down pretty quickly.

Yet, as he was lying down on the floor covered in his own blood, something changed inside of him. He saw things in a different way. He saw the clouds and the trees rimming his vision, and could see vibrant light inside of them. He could sense their energy and felt their natural power.

He sat up and looked at his attacker. He seemed weaker somehow. Connor could see that Mike was preparing for another attack. His gang of friends cheering him on. He didn't hate them. But he knew he had to make them understand that he wasn't the same Connor as before. So he stood. As Mike went to punch him, he punched him quickly and soundlessly in his chest. He heard something snap. He had broken Mike' rib.

The observers of the fight, upon seeing the way a part of Mike' chest bent inwards, ran away screaming for the teachers. Connor had aimed so that it wouldn't hurt any vital organs, yet he was surprised at this unnatural strength. Where did it come from? Was it really him that had punched Mike? What had happened? With all these questions swirling in his head he didn't even notice the screaming of his opponent.

It was only later that he realised what had happened. His punch had been stronger because it was backed with the power of his concentration and his energy. He didn't fully understand it himself, yet he could feel the peculiar sensation in his body. A tingling in his very cells and a curious pressure behind his eyes.

Then two weeks later he had forgotten about the curious incident, until in his routine eye check up he discovered a newfound ability. Whilst staring at the letters to determine their exact shape, 'was that a D or a B', Connor suddenly noticed a sharp change in his vision. Not only could he see every letter clearly now, the letters seemed to be flickering. Changing colour like Christmas lights. They started flickering more rapidly as he sat and watched with his expressionless face. They started shifting colours more violently and vividly. Until they filled his vision. Finally he could take it no more and lost consciousness quickly.

He woke a few minutes later to the sound of his opticians worried voice, the colours had stopped. Yet he could still see in perfect clarity. As he resumed his testing, his doctor was amazed at his sudden improvement. Stating that she had never seen anything like it. He asked to leave quickly, scared of being tested further, in case they found out about his new abilities.

Over the next few years, his 'magic' increased in power. By the time he was fifteen he was able to control this curious energy. Although he was apt in other aspects of his so called 'magic', his real talent was in telekinesis. Then one day, after a stressful day of testing and another schoolyard bullying session that had been coming regularly since he was a child, another of his so called 'incidents' occurred.

Yet this was no newfound overdose of energy, no release of built up power in his head. This made those look as if they were babies throwing a tantrum.

It had happened whilst he had been taking a walk, a hobby of his since he was twelve. He happened to circle back to his secondary school.

He walked into the open gates, no one ever bothered to close them, it wasn't like the school had anything worth stealing.

Suddenly he had been overwhelmed by the sensations in the air. The over cast sky loomed above, the wind howled in his ears, shaking about his mental state like fragile wind chimes, the cold chilled his bones through his jacket. It was too much for Connor. It was as if sensory overload and steroid infused rage had had a baby, which had then suffered a traumatic childhood, committed crime after crime and then had killed itself in prison with a sharpened toothbrush.

He fell to his knees and screamed into the wind. His eyes glowed an even brighter shade of red and his body convulsed violently. The ground surrounding him cracked and crumbled, the coming storm broke the sky with it's wrath, fueled by this psychic vortex raging in his body. The pressure reached his school, tearing apart it's foundations and shattering it like a glass tennis ball.

The building bled up into the sky like evaporating water. Then finally, it stopped. The pieces fell back to earth with a thunderous sound. He ran for cover even as his legs were twitching and shuddering. With the treeline sheltering him, he turned and stared back at the devastation. And for the first time in his life, he was scared.