Bind

Forced

“Yeah?” My words shook out of my lips. I couldn’t help the sudden aversion. I knew this situation was going to be daunting but I guess I wasn’t prepared for the finality of it all. His closeness wasn’t helping either.

He leaned closer, making my heart thunder in my chest.

“It isn’t going to be easy.” He looked into my eyes as if searching for my resolve. “Educating you on how to fight the Crowns, or at least delay their effects, would probably help our chances of getting out of here.”

I couldn’t help but recoil from him as well as the circumstances.

Such cowardice.

I tried to steel myself for what was to come, but I felt the quailing effects of my fear, seeping through.

He grinned at my expression and backed up to lean against the opposing wall. Could he sense my unease?

“I need to tell you the options you have when encountering a Crown or Shadow, or whatever might be trying to break into your head at the time.” His eyes turned to the draw string of his hoodie while his fingers fidgeted with the ends. “Over the years I have found that there are three options for this. The first is Distraction. If you are lucky enough to be in range of the attacker, then maybe you can do something to end their hold on you. Throw something; make a loud noise, flash a light, anything to break their concentration. If you can’t do any of these things because the attacker is not within range then you’ll have to settle for Dislocation. If you can take your mind and hide it deep within your subconscious then you are better protected. Hiding your mind from your enemy is always needed. If you can’t do any of these then the last option is Disruption. If you can break your attacker’s hold by performing an attack of your own, then it becomes a battle of wills, and whoever’s is strongest wins.”

He paused, allowing me to say something.

I chose to opt out since I couldn’t realistically place myself in anything he said. I was really going to survive with these three options? Really? I can’t use mind powers, I can’t deflect these powers now, what’s going to change that I’ll be able to in the future?  Lastly, how am I supposed to throw off someone’s concentration when I can’t even see past myself to do anything when being attacked? Doom was the word on the top of my list as far as emotions went.

He must have seen the self-defeating thoughts flash across my face.

“It’s ok. I know it seems hopeless. I did for me at first, but with your stubbornness I’m sure you’ll be able to get at least one of the options down.” The curve of his mouth bent at the corner, revealing a smirk. “It’s really not as hard as you’re making it seem, I’ll show you. We’ll start with the second option, seeing as you don’t have the ability to fight back with your mind and we probably won’t be able to see our attackers on the run.”

He held out his hand like there was something on it.

“I’m going to have you see an apple on my hand. So don’t be alarmed when it appears. Since I’m not trying to change your hearing, your sense of smell, or taste, it shouldn’t be as painful as last time. Most people who are masters of fighting mental attacks don’t even notice when vision augmentations are presented to them because it’s the easiest thing to fool someone with. You’d be amazed at how easily people believe their eyes. It’s one of the few effortless aspects to change since your mind is so accustomed to seeing and believing.”

His smirk disappeared. “Your job is to block my attempts to have you see this apple. You’ll know you’re winning when the apple disappears. I can’t really tell you how to fight it off; it’s more of a feeling than anything else. Just try and force everything out of your mind till it’s just you inside there.”