Rift Chronicles

Rift Chronicles Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Token

As they were eating breakfast the next morning, Raff asked what had been on her mind since yesterday's events. "Um, Larch, I'm very glad you showed up to help us yesterday... but I was wondering, how did you get there so fast?"

Larch looked up from his breakfast and placed it down on a rock by him. "Oh, you mean this?" Seemingly, he was sitting there one moment, and the next, he was standing next to Raff.

Grant jumped in his seat and toppled over, which made Larch laugh. Sitting up, Grant asked in shock, "What in the world?!"

"Yes, that," said Raff as she nodded her head.

Larch walked back at a normal pace to where he had been and sat down. With Raff and Grant looking intently at him for an explanation, Larch proceeded to answer their question. "Well, I'm not exactly sure how or why, and I've read a lot of different explanations of how it happens, but apparently, a small portion of the population is born with unusual abilities. The explanation that I personally believe in is that it might have to do with our planet's instability, as objects from other worlds frequently get dumped through wormholes to our world. The thought goes that somehow our very DNA has been altered due to the rifts. That at least accounts for some of the strange abilities some people have. As you probably have guessed, I'm one of those small percentages. I was born with the ability to move at superhuman speeds."

Larch let those words hang in the air for a minute as he waited for a response.

"Whoa, really? That's amazing!" exclaimed Grant. "How long have you been able to move so quickly?"

Larch shrugged. "For as long as I can remember. I think that is the same story for most with superhuman abilities. Though I have heard of the occasional exception whose powers were only discovered during a moment of intense distress or other unusual circumstances. Those with that type of power refer to them as Talents. The exact way a person manages to create their own Talent isn't all that clear to me. Though if I had to guess I would say it probably also has to do with a person's genetics."

"Bummer, so most people have to be born with a superpower in order to have one. I guess that means I won't turn super strong all of a sudden," said Grant.

As Larch's words sank in, Raff turned her gaze briefly to Grant. She wondered in her mind, Is that what had happened back with the creature and Grant? Still, Grant hasn't even brought it up at all, like he doesn't remember that moment. I better not bring it up right now; we have enough to deal with at the moment. She returned her look toward Larch to see if he had anything further to add.

"Yeah, sorry about that Grant, I didn't mean to get your hopes up. Anyway, that's about all I know," said Larch as he picked up his breakfast.

"That's okay. I didn't think I would actually get superpowers, though you gotta admit, it would have been cool. Man, I had no idea. I mean, I've heard some tall tales before, but I always dismissed them. Well, at least until I saw you... Huh! I wonder if that's what Bail did back in the forest with the wolves," Grant wondered aloud.

"It probably was some sort of super ability. I don't remember the Shuravari normally being able to do what you told us about," said Larch as he was chewing. "If I had to guess, it's probably a Talent. Those are typically more unusual and weird. From the way you described it, his power sounds pretty strange to me."

Raff took another bite of the fruit she had collected the other day. With Koola's help from the night before, she had found out it was edible and very tart. The inside of the blue pear was an even more vibrant shade of blue than the skin.