"So, how do your telekinetic powers work?" Gaius asked, taking another drink while we walked side by side.
"I don't know...."
"Right, right, memory loss." He was silent for a moment. I wondered what was going through his mind and wished I knew how to control it to find out. "So you really remember nothing about it?"
"About what?"
"Your past."
The truth was I did have memories. But they were like watercolor images that went through several rainstorms; just faded colors blended together in a blob that couldn't be picked out no matter what way you looked at it. "I have them... but it's like they're locked away."
There was a strange sound behind us. I was about to turn to look and see what it was, but Gaius pulled my down to the ground before I could. Something zoomed past over our heads, a person standing on a type of board. That was floating in the air. "What was that?" I whispered, clearly not loud enough for Gaius to hear me.
"You missed, Ghost!" He shouted after the girl who was riding it.
She slowed and turned around, came back to us, and jumped off what she was riding, it instantly folding into a small type of pack, which she, surprisingly enough, put onto her back. "I wasn't trying to hit you." She fixed her purple hair, moving it out of her face. "Come on, let's go." She skipped off.
"Gaius, who is that?" I asked quietly, not wanting her to hear me.
"Her name's Ghost." Dusting himself off, he pulled out another sucker. "She wanted to start a new life, erasing her past. Hence how she got her name."
"What was she riding?"
"A hoverboard. It's her way of getting around. I think it's too obvious and would rather stay in the shadows. With a reputation like mine, you tend to have a high bounty on your head." We started heading in the direction Ghost ran off in.
"What's a bounty?"
"It's a reward that someone would get if they managed to bring the person described in to the authorities."
"What would happen if they managed to bring that person in?" His expression darkened but he didn't say a word. But he thought it.
If I were to get caught, they'd kill me for my crimes.
I swallowed, nervous to ask what came to my head next. "What kind of crimes have you done?"
"Stolen a ton of priceless things, eluded those who are after me even though that's not even a crime. I've also been framed for several murders." His teeth chomped down on the sucker. "Although the theft would be enough to get me the death penalty."
My head suddenly exploded in warning. "Gaius, we should leave here right now." I whispered cautiously, looking around.
It seemed all his senses went into overdrive as he subtly glanced around. "When you learn how to control your brain powers, you'll come in handy for all sorts of situations." His hand slowly crept into his cloak to where I guessed he kept a concealed weapon. "Act like you don't notice them." He muttered, barely moving his mouth. From a distance, it would've seemed like he hadn't uttered a single word. "If they think we're unaware, they won't attack yet..." He started leading me again.
It was surprisingly hard not to look around, knowing that people were waiting in hiding to try and kill us. What do I do if they do attack? Should I let Gaius take care of it or try to help?
Every step I took seemed to take a whole minute to complete. The suspense of them lurking was almost too much for me to handle. Gaius was perfectly fine though. He put his arm around me and started a conversation. "So, Psych. What do you think of the taste of coffee?"
I remembered I was still holding the cup in my hand. "It tastes alright." I replied, hoping my voice wasn't as shaky as I thought.
"All coffee doesn't taste like that. It was just the way that waitress made it." He chuckled.
The confidence in his voice started to ease my tension. "What did she put in it...? Creamer?"
He nodded. "It's meant to take away the bitter flavor of coffee. Some people like it, I don't know how." He sighed loudly. "I prefer sweet, but you already know this."
We both sensed the attack a second before it happened. Twenty or more guys leaped out from behind things like parked cars, dumpsters, even rushing out of building doorways. While I was standing, feeling helpless, Gaius yanked a surprisingly well-kempt dagger from his cloak and adjusted his footing. "You guys keep growing in numbers!" He exclaimed. "Phil, how's your arm?" I looked at the guy he was looking at.
Judging by the heavy looking pipe he has in his hands, his arm's fine. I reasoned to myself.
They weren't ones for conversation. They only stared hard at him. Gaius's dagger twirled and he held it behind his back, back-handed, crouching low. "Sorry boys, but I don't have the time to fool around." He dashed up to the nearest person and knee'd them in the stomach, not having to move his leg too far, then stabbed him in the ribcage a few times.
Five more rushed him at once, leaving him no room to escape the circle of them. "Come on, guys, can't we just grab a drink or something and settle this with an arm wrestle?" One had the nerve to spit on his shoes. He slowly looked down at it then looked back up at them. The dagger flipped around as he straightened out. "Consider this a murder charge." Before I could even cover my eyes, his dagger rushed out and connected with the man's throat, blood gushing out.
I jumped without meaning to. A few of the guys seemed to finally notice I was there. Gaius was busy with the other four that surrounded him as two of them targeted me. As they neared, I felt a strange sensation. The only way I can describe it is as red, because that's what my vision was flooded with. I don't remember what I did, but what I do remember is seeing them lying on the ground, their temples bleeding badly.
Three more of them ran at me as the red color faded. I was more agile than I could've ever given myself credit for. As I ducked under a swing of a dagger aimed at my throat, I spun and kicked out their knee, sending them to the ground. My ears picked up on the sound of something rushing through the air at my left side, and I flipped backwards onto my hands, spun and lowered my legs to kick their waist and raised my other leg to kick them across the face. Unfortunately, I did not land on my feet. When I realized what I was doing, I lost my balance and fell on my back. I scrambled to my feet, wishing I knew how to control the many skills I possessed.
Gaius was dodging and blocking attacks from all directions, being able to do both at the same time. However, he was being pressed so hard, he had no chance to counter. I was gonna run to help him but something held me back. He spit out his sucker and everyone around him faltered. I took that as a sign that waiting was a good idea. He pulled his dagger back and spun out towards the person in front of him, who got their throat slashed. Before any of them could react, he grabbed the arm of another, twisted them a bit, and stabbed their side twice. The rest of them stared in horror at their fallen comrades. Gaius only grinned.
"Who's next?" He asked. They slowly backed away and turned around and ran off, not giving me a second glance. He started laughing. "You guys never learn, do you?!"
From that point on, I wasn't sure if Gaius was really as sugar coated as I thought.
