Extra Human

6: Introductions

"Are you insane?" A voice behind me says. The strong hands that were once around my throat grip my shoulders instead and quickly spin me around. I come face to face with the man from the museum in Paris. His wild green eyes bear into mine, flaming with anger. Relief washes over me replacing the terror. I have found what I am looking for, but not in the greatest of ways.

"Why did you have to choke me out?" I let out a fit of coughs as my wind pipe recovers from his grip.

"I recall saving your life. You should be thankful," he counters, raising an eyebrow.

I try to open my mouth to retort, but no words come out, only hoarse coughs. As we stand there, the word Death creeps back into my mind. He's still out there.

"We need to move. Now!" The man demands. He turns and runs into the crowd. Do I trust him enough to follow? The answer is a definite no. This can be another plan to trap me. But whatever is out there waiting for me is worth the risk of following the man into the uncertainty. Taking one look back before leaving, I follow after him—glad in the end I didn't go through with my plan.

After running a few blocks, we stop at the corner of 17th and Market across from One Liberty Place. The vast skyscraper reflects like a mirror the light blue sky back to us. Its largeness is overwhelming to look at. The giant has a certain beauty among the rest of the puny subjects below it. Cars racing by ignore the magnificent splendor next to them as they honk at each other for impatient reasons. The light above the hectic traffic turns red allowing me to catch my breath.

"Who are you? Why did you save me? Who was that man chasing me anyway? And why was he so dangerous?" I ramble in one breath, my mind spinning in several directions.

"Woah, woah, woah." The man puts his hands up in defense. "I can't answer all of those questions. At least not yet. What I can tell you is that I'm Andrew Cunningham. Drew for short. And I'm here to help you with your...extra side." The light turns green and we walk across with the rest of the crowd heading in the same direction.

"My extra side?" I question.

"You know...," A couple walks past glaring us down as if we are aliens. Drew gives a small smile, but as they walk away he sticks out his middle finger in the direction of their backs. "...the special abilities you possess. I can see it in your eyes. They're not the usual color everyone else thinks is normal. And it looks like you have two different colors. Never seen that before. What kind of powers do you possess?"

We reach the curb and stop in the middle of the walking traffic as people throw curses for being in the way. My heart flutters as Drew moves closer, curiously staring into my eyes.

Small wrinkles form around his eyes and mouth, but he still has a young look to him. He must be in his late twenties. A shallow scar on the right side of his face glints off the light from the sun. I didn't notice it when I saw him back at the museum. It must have been too dark to see it then.

"I uhm," I stutter. "I have, well, I can hear people. I mean what they are thinking, but it's limited to a certain distance. Also, I can control things without touching them."

"What kind of things?" Drew asks, his hot breath faintly touching my skin. I notice he's wearing blue jeans and black Vans on his feet. A gray fitted shirt hugs his tan muscular body.

"Everything?" I inhale. Anything I touch or want to touch moves at the simple thought of it. Even things I can't normally hold in the palm of my hands I have complete control over.

He takes a step back, and examines me from a distance. It would help if I can read what he's thinking because it's becoming frustratingly annoying that I can't. There is no one that I am blocked from. Except him.