The Middle Grounds

Chapter 1

One day, a young boy whose name will show up later in this story was sitting on the wooden docks and staring at the brilliant blue waters that slowly and quietly lapped the shore behind him.
He sighed and leaned back against the metal fishing box he had bought on sale at Walmart. As he was leaning back, he looked at the gorgeous sunset that loomed overhead. He marveled at the sunset. He had recently found God during his sisters struggle against cancer. He lost his sister to that battle she was fighting. He smiled because he knew his sister was looking down at him and the sunset proud that he is as calm as he can be in when all you smell around you is dead fish.
"Nathaniel." Her calm voice echoed through his head. "Stay strong. I know our family is hard on you, but you need to stay strong."
He didn't think much of what she said because he imagined her voice a lot. But, then again, his imagination was never this precise.
"NATHANIEL!" Her voice rang through his head so loud that he actually jumped.
He jumped so high he landed off the docks and into the water. He didn't think much of it since he loved swimming, but the water was freezing.
He climbed onto the dock shivering. And then his sister's voice came again.
"NATHAN LENSTON!" Her voice was sharp and stern. She never called him Nathan unless she was serious. She was six years old when he was born, and she hated the name Nathan, so she always called him by his full name, Nathaniel.
"Brea?" Nathan talked aloud not noticing that the few people on the dock next to him stared at him in a confused sort of way.
"Brea is that you?" He asked, again, getting weird glances from the people on the adjacent dock.
"Duh!" Brea responded in his head. "What took you so long to respond?"
Nathan, wide-eyed and confused responded in a sarcastic tone, "Well its been a while since I've spoken to the dead through my mind!" That comment not only got a weird look from the other people on the dock but the also grabbed their metal tackle box and ran.
Nathan forgot about the beautiful sky and the soothing waves that seemed to whisper all the secrets of the ocean. All of everything seemed to fade away to him. And his sisters voice became more and more present to him.
"Nathan, I know this is gonna be hard to believe, but there is a way to get me back," Brea said.
In hearing this Nathan was all ears. "How?" Nathan asked hopefully.
"It wont be easy," Brea responded. "It will be hard and painful and you will wish you were dead... But i need you to do it for me. Go home and i'll tell you how to do all of this."
Nathan, at the time, didn't care how painful it would be. He just wanted his sister back.
His sister's voice stopped and he snapped out of the dreamy state of mind. He stood up and looked at his watch he had "found"when his family was struggling for money once the hospital bills came in. Nathan knew it's not right to steal but what else could he do. He just wanted to help his family. He tried to make up for it. He'd pickpocket someone on the street one day and take half of the money in the wallet. The next day he'd "reverse-pickpocket" (slip the half empty wallet back into their pocket unnoticed) hoping that would make up for his wrong doing.
"Holy crap!" Nathan yelped as he looked at the time. "It's six thirty four!"
He ran home as fast as he could taking as many back alleyways as he could.
Sadly in the last alleyway he was stopped by thee big teenagers. "Hold up young one..." Said the biggest teenager. He looked about eighteen years old. He had the beginnings of what looked like a mustache or a Hershey's chocolate bar upper-lip stain.
"Young?" Nathan growled. "IM FOURTEEN!' Nathan stopped and thought for a second. They've got a point... fourteen is pretty young.
The three big ugly bullies laughed. Eventually after what seemed like the worlds longest staring contest one of the bullies spotted his (kind of his) watch. "Aye, look at that, Donny!" He pointed at the watch.
"That could sell for a pretty penny!" Says Donny. "Go get it!"
The bullies charged Nathan. As soon as the first bully swung at Nathan he ducked under the arm and grabbed the bully's wrist. He piloted out from beneath the bully's arm and swung his leg over his neck. The other bully kicked at Nathan (who was still in that awkward position) and Nathan grabbed his ankle. He twisted the bully's ankle and leaned backwards onto the other bully popping the first bully's arm out of place and spin flipping the other bully onto the ground knocking them both out.
"THAT'S WHY YOU DON'T MESS WITH A STREET BOY IN AN ALLEYWAY IN NEW JERSEY" Nathan yelled at the two unconscious bullies. The third bully, Donny, walked up to Nathan with his hand in his pocket.
Suddenly his hand flew out of his pocket and a pocket knife popped open. Nathan stood there like he had dealt with this sort of thing before, because he had. His life has always been odd. Ever since he was born with that lightning bolt on his right arms bicep his life has been weird. (You're probably wondering what that bolt means and why he was born with it but I'll get to that later).
The bully swung his knife at Nathan. Time seemed to slow down, all of his motions were oddly slow. But Nathan felt normal. Nathan grabbed the bully's wrist, who was still going slow, and knocked the blade out of Donny's hands.
Nathan's once baby blue eyes turned silver. All of his movements were fast, very, very fast.
Donny grabbed at him but nathen jumped backwards into the air spinning with his arm swooping outwards. Off of his fingertips came five small silver bolts of lightning al speeding as fast as, well lightning (DUH), at Donny.
All of those bolts hit Donny in the chest sending him flying backwards to an alleyway wall.
Sparks of silver electricity flew off of Nathan as he walked forward towards Donny to check his pulse, Nathan didn't wanna be know as a killer.
His silver eyes that crackled with energy were like flashlights against the early morning darkness. Or was that just the darkness of the sin that the alleyway stored. We only hope we will ever find out which one.
Nathan glanced up at a security camera placed there by the police to keep the city safe. He knew someone had watched the fight. He knew someone was recording every move he made.
He quickly checked Donny's pulse making sure he was alive, and yes, yes he was. He looked back up at the camera still recording him. Nathan held up his hand in the direction of the camera and lightning struck it. The camera blacked out leaving no trace he was ever here.
     "Nobody needs to know what just happened," Nathan said. "At least, not yet."