The Gifted

Chapter 19

Watching as the bus drove off I looked at the bus times. Damn it, I thought the next bus wasn't till 5 in the morning. Guess I was staying in another sketchy motel. Scanning the flyers I pulled out one that had the worlds Best Motel scrawled across it. Flipping it open It showed directions from the bus stop, thankfully it was only a few minutes walk.

With the wind drifting across my body I shivered, not from coldness but because of the sounds coming from the tree line across the road. I quickened my pace, in the distance I could see the flickering motel sign.

Walking across the gravel driveway the crunching of my shoes dress unneeded attention towards me. The sound of a bell broke the silence as I opened the entrance door.

The desk sat unoccupied, leaving me with an uneasy feeling as I remembered back to my past motel experiences. Suddenly I was startled when a woman rushed out of the door behind the desk and sat down.

"Oh I'm sorry dear, have you been waiting long?" The old woman asked, directing a smile in my direction.

"Umm no," I said, wishing she would just book me a room.

"What's your name sweetie?" She asked flipping open a registering book, old fashion much.

"Uh Lyra Black," I said, mentally slapping myself at revealing my real name.

A surprised look crossed her face, "You're not by any chance related to Xavier Black?" The woman asked looking up at me.

I paused, wondering if I should reveal that I was in fact his daughter. Deciding that I could trust her I nodded. "Yeah, he's my father," I said, wondering how she knew him.

"He was a good man, I'm sorry to hear about your loss," she stated giving me a pitiful smile.

"How do you know him?" I questioned her.

"We met at the academy."

I widened my eyes, "you know about the academy," I whispered, not wanting any prying ears to hear.

"Yes my dear, I'm gifted. I'm guessing that you are too." The old woman said.

Nodding I asked her what her gift was. She responded by saying, "I can sense people intentions, whether they mean good or bad."

"Oh cool," I stated not knowing what to say to that.

"You have good intentions, even if they are a little misguided," she said. "What about you?"

"Augmentation," I stated, feeling more comfortable around her by the second.

"Ah just like your father, you will do good in your life." She said handing my a silver key. "Now go get some sleep, you look like you need it."

I laughed inside, I'm sure I do. As I begun to walk away I stopped in my tracks and turned around. "Oh do you happen to have a charger?"

The woman smiled and handed over a white apple charger.

"Thank you," I said, then escaped into my motel room.

The first thing I did was plug in my phone and take a shower. After I plonked onto the single bed and opened up my phone. The flashing of missed messages and texts flooded my screen, most being from Gracie and the group. Going through the messages I found that the majority of the were asking questions such as, where are you? Are you okay? You know things a person would ask if a friend of theirs went missing.

Hopefully my disappearance would remain low key at the academy for a few more days until I had travelled far enough to not be caught. The next thing I did was check my location, turns out I was closer to West Virginia than I had thought; it was only a half and hour drive into a small town.

The next morning I had woken from a sleep that hadn't been invaded by Rivers. I finished changing and left the room as clean as I had found it. I then made the short walk to the reception desk where the woman sat.

Giving her a smile I dug into my bag for money. "How much?" I asked pulling out a twenty hoping that it would be enough.

"Oh no, I won't take money from a friends daughter," She said.

Thanking her I passed over the key and turned to leave for the bus stop.

"Lyra!" She called out to me. "Where are you heading?"

Retreating back to the desk I answered, "West Virginia," I stated.

Abruptly she stood up, "Follow me."

Carefully I followed her as she opened the door behind her. The darkness was immediately broken when she flicked up the light switch. Now being able to see, it looked like we were in a garage with two cars covered with sheets.

The lady walked over to one of the cars and pulled off the sheet, underneath sat a beautiful, black 1966 mustang convertible. Taking in the sight my jaw almost hit the ground.

"Omg its beautiful," I exclaimed as she folded up the sheet and set it down.

"It was my husbands," she said with a small smile on her face obviously remembering the times they had spent together in the car.

"I'm sorry for being so blunt but I need to get going," I said instantly feeling bad for interrupting her thoughts.

Snapping her head towards me she replied, "No need, I shall drive you, I need to grab a few things in town anyway. Just give my a minute to close." She stated leaving the room.

Gliding my hands over the car a memory of when I was younger flashed through my mind. It was a summers day when I was little; dad had taken all us kids out for a drive in his convertible. I could still feel how happy I was that day with the wind blowing through my hair and all of us singing along. I missed having days like those, but what I missed more was him, I missed my dad.

"Ready," The lady stated coming back into the garage.

As she rounded the car I popped into the passengers seat. The smell of leather filled the air, along with the smell of dust. She must not have used this car in a while. I watched as she clicked a button and the garage door slowly creaked open, next she started up the car and we where on our way.