Burn- A Gone Series Fanfiction

Chapter Ten

FOR THE NEXT WEEK OR so, Diana, Caine and Andy kept the secret between them. It became some strange sort of inside joke that they shared. With every slight inconvenience or annoyance came a certain look shared between Andy and Caine. It was their own way of acknowledging exactly how useful their powers could be, should they decide to put them in place.

For eight days, this silent acknowledgement continued...

...until they decided to act on it.

Diana had never failed to hide her dislike for Mr Damien, their chemistry teacher, so when he asked her to stay behind after their lesson at the end of the day, Diana had rolled her eyes so dramatically at Andy that she thought they may roll out of her head. Assuming whatever he wanted to talk about wouldn't take long, Andy waited in the hallway. Not even a minute had passed when Diana came storming out of the classroom, furiously wiping at her eyes. Andy had to jog to keep up with her.

"What's wrong? What did he say?"

Diana kept walking, paying no attention to Andy. She weaved her way along the hall and to the main stairs.

"Diana!"

Still no response. She was heading to the dorms, so Andy followed after her; classes had finished for the day and neither of them had anywhere else to be. Diana made her way around the corner and along to her room on the first floor. She unlocked the door and hurried in, leaving it open behind her.

Andy reached the doorway and slowed down. Diana was standing in the middle of the room, staring blankly into space, eyes glistening with tears. Andy walked in and quietly shut the door behind them.

"What's going on?"

Diana, still staring into space, shook her head absentmindedly. She swallowed and took a deep breath. "I told you he was creepy."

Andy said nothing. She stared at Diana, waiting for her to continue, wondering what the hell had gone on in that room. Diana was right; Mr Damien was creepy. Her mind was racing through all the possibilities, trying to figure out what had happened in that room. Thankfully, she didn't have to wait long for Diana to explain.

"He was coming on to me. He grabbed me. He groped me. I just... he's such a creep, Andy!" Diana slumped down on the bed and held her head in her hands, openly crying now.

Before Andy had a chance to respond, there was a knock on the door.

"Go away!" Diana removed her hands from her face to yell.

"It's me."

Caine.

To Andy's surprise, Diana sat up straighter. There was a flicker of something in her eyes; a fleeting moment of determination. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and called out to Caine. "Come in!"

Slowly, the door opened, and Caine peered cautiously into the room, his eyes meeting Andy's and then settling on Diana. He came in, closing the door behind him without a single touch. Andy could tell from the instant he looked into the room that Caine had never seen Diana cry before, and was completely lost as to what to do.

Diana told him, quite bluntly, about what Mr Damien had done. This time, she told the full story, including the moment he had called her a 'mature young woman'.

After a moment's deliberation, Caine had asked the crucial, path-defining question. "What do you want me to do?"

Andy reflected on that moment the following day as she, Caine, and Diana stood on the balcony and watched as Mr Damien was taken away on a stretcher after a rather nasty fall down the stairs.

It had looked as if his feet had been knocked out from under him, buckled by a strong, invisible force.

"We need to gather the others," Caine had said, over dinner that evening.

"What others?" Andy asked, as if she was missing something.

Caine looked around the room; it looked as if he was counting something. "The ones with powers. We can't let it go to waste. We have to use them for something."

"The powers, or the people?"

Before Caine could answer, Drake joined them, throwing himself down beside Andy, laughing about the look on Mr Damien's face when he'd fallen. Little did he know that he was talking to the same exact person who'd orchestrated the fall.

"..seriously, I've seen some comedy gold in my time, but I think that was right up there. Wish I'd videoed it."

"Your sense of humour is astounding, Drake," Diana drawled. She rolled her eyes at Andy.

But Diana was enjoying this, it occurred to Andy. She was relishing in the power she had through Caine. If Diana actually felt guilty about what Caine had done, she didn't show it, and each time she made eye contact with Caine, they shared a dangerous spark that told Andy that this wouldn't be the last of their antics.

And worse still, Andy was excited too. Some sick, twisted part of her was glad that the others were happy about this. She was pleased that they wanted more, and that they would get more. That dark, impulsive corner of her mind was giddy with anticipation. What would they do next?

Caine's idea of forming a group still floated around her mind. Being able to acknowledge their powers with one another --maybe even learning how to control or improve them-- was something that Andy deeply desired, especially if it was as Diana had said. If Caine and Andy held the strongest powers, both completely different in nature, but similarly awe-inducing, what could the others do? And who were the others?

Andy's mind drifted to Dekka. The two of them barely made more than small talk at the moment. Andy knew hardly anything about the girl, and Dekka was so quiet and secretive that Andy didn't doubt for a second that she might be hiding a power too. In fact, she would almost guarantee it.

After dinner, Diana made a list:

FIRST NAME. LAST NAME. AGE. POWER LEVEL. POWER TYPE.

First on the list was Caine Soren. 14. 4. Telekinesis.

Diana put herself next, although she had no way of reading her own power level, so left that section blank.

Then Andy's own name, in full. Power level of 3. Thermokinesis.

Diana kept writing. Some names, Andy recognised, but most were unfamiliar.

Dekka Talent. 14. 3. Unknown.

Brianna Berenson. 11. 3. Unknown.

It turned out that, aside from Andy, Caine and Diana, they only knew one other power type.

Frederico Lopez. 14. 2. Cat-like agility.

"Cat-like agility?" Andy had repeated, laughing as Diana wrote it out. "So, what? He can jump down from trees and land on his feet?"

"Well, that's simplifying it," Caine smirked. "Once you see it happen, it's...well... it's more than just tree climbing."

Andy shook her head, still laughing silently at the power. "I'll take your word for it."

"You'll find out for real tomorrow," Caine told her. "We're meeting after class, out in the woods. Same spot we took you."

Diana completed the list and set her pen to the side. Caine picked up the sheet of paper and read over it, smiling to himself. "It's time to find out what these freaks can do."