Stolen Powers

Chapter Seventeen: Heading South

After we fed Landon a huge meal and went to bed that night in Pasadena, we woke up later than we expected. I guessed that my mother forgot to set her alarm.

"Get up guys. It's already pushing noon. I can't afford to...oh, never mind."

Bailey restarted the woman at the counter again. Thanks to her, we probably saved close to a thousand dollars, if not more.

Landon was the hardest to force out of the bed, and I felt bad for making him do so. He deserved every second of sleep in the world, and I certainly knew that he had to be both physically and mentally exhausted from being locked in that cell for so long. I didn't even know how long he was in there, but judging by his scrawny and bony body, it had to have been a very long time.

He also showered last night, but he didn't hesitate to take another one. After we finished getting ready, my mother asked Landon what his favorite food was. He still spoke with a gravelly voice.

"I've always enjoyed burgers."

"Then that's where we'll go."

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Before we got our seats, I started to scan the restaurant for any signs of danger, but Landon beat me to it. "There's no soldiers around that I can see. We're safe here for a while. Besides, I think I know where they'll be heading soon."

I nodded. "Thanks. When we sit down, we'd like to know more about your power so we can fully understand it."

"Of course," he said.

The host sat us down in a large table that sat the six of us, and we gave her our drink orders and left us in silence. None of us wanted to talk, so I left it alone until Landon actually spoke up. He seemed like the quiet type to me.

"Hey, Mason," he started, and I looked up. He made sure that nobody was listening to us. "Would you still like to know more about my power?"

This got everyone's attention, and I nodded. "Of course I do."

"Well, my power is electrolocation. That means I can see the way sharks and eels do in muddy water. I can see literally anything and everything in a certain distance."

"Do you have to pulse to see like that?" Jamie asked, giving him a curious look.

Landon shook his head. "No. I just look around and it's there."

"Oh, okay," she said, nodding. "That's pretty cool actually."

Landon grimaced. "Ah, not really. I'd give it up in a heartbeat."

"How come?" I asked.

My mother formed a thin line with her mouth and nodded slowly. When she did that I understood why.

"There's some things I see with the power that I really wish I could forget," he said, and he took a drink of his water.

"Oh, okay. I understand that," said Donovan.

The waitress came back and took our orders. Landon only ordered a small cheeseburger, and my mom suggested that he'd get something bigger. He shook his head, saying that he wasn't super hungry.

My mother frowned. "Are you sure? We have the money."

By "money," she meant "Bailey's powers."

Landon still refused, but we didn't make him eat anything bigger.

Around ten minutes later, surprisingly, our food came and we all dug in without hesitation. I kept stopping to look around for anything suspicious, but Bailey grabbed my hand and gave me those pleading eyes.