Synectica

Chapter 3

        Greg groaned again and curled into a ball on the floor. Netta couldn't believe what she'd just done. Her friend lay in pain on the floor and it was her fault. Tears flooded her eyes faster than she could regulate them as she tried to help Greg. If she could cause pain, maybe she could ease it too. She kneeled next to Greg and let her hand hover just over his forehead. Her hands were icy cold. She could feel the cold from her hands untangling the mixed up energy in Greg's head. As she did this, she began to understand this new aspect of her powers. The mind is a house of energy - brain waves, or thoughts. By concentrating on those waves, she could hear and understand thoughts. When she used her energy to cause pain, she had used her ability to read the energy waves to shock them, sending an electrical current through Greg's entire body, causing him to spasm. The energy it took to send an electrical current made her hands icy cold, which protected her from the heat of the energy itself.      

        She then remembered that Andrew and the rest of the soccer team were outside, no doubt terrified from the screaming. She heard Andrew shout Greg's name a few times from behind the door. Judging by their thoughts, they were coming in, and soon. She needed more time to telp Greg; as well, she needed time to escape with her secret in tact. She pulled her black hoodie from her bag and put it on, throwing the hood over her head to try and cover her face while she thought of something to stall them. Electric shocks were a last resort at this point. Maybe she could pull electricity in from places other than the brain's frequency waves. Her eyes darted frantically around the room for something electrical. The door flung open and eight guys cautiously walked into the enormous room. At the sight of Greg on the floor, they all started to rush to help him. Netta kept her back to them and her head down.

        "What did you do to him!" one of them yelled at her.

        Netta found a good source of electricity - the lights. She pulled their energy into her head. The lights started to flicker. It felt tingly and strange next to her brain. That much energy inside her felt good. Then it started to burn. She lifted her hand to guide it and send it straight over the heads of the boys. The ducked under the sparks and froze.

        "Stay back. I'm trying to help him and I can't do that if you attack me." She could only hope that they believed her.

        "If you're really trying to help him, then why are you ashamed to show your face?" Andrew yelled. It felt as if he had hit her in the gut.

         "Do you think I'm that stupid? Do you really think I'd let a secret like this get out?" She rolled her eyes and said out loud, "O gull, O dolt, as ignorant as dirt." She smirked as they looked at each other with confused glances. Shakespearean insults were the best.

        After about five more minutes of Netta trying, Greg came around and had enough strength to sit up. As Netta helped him sit, she became aware that now that she had served her purpose, she had to get out. She thought of creating some sort of shield or barrier. That way, they couldn't touch her and she could escape. As she stood, she kept her back to them do that they couldn't see her face.

        "I'm sorry this happened," she said. She could hear them getting ready to run after her, so she lifted one hand and concentrated on feeling the energy around her. She drew it in from the walls where the electricity flowed in wires and into that place in her head. She felt it tingle and then burn. She sent it out to her side, bit by bit, until she had a small shield of electricity just inches from her palm. When she opened her eyes she saw it was almost beautiful. It had white and blue sparks, all rotating in a circle, like bumper cars in a ring. She felt her hands grow cold again. She turned slightly and left the shield in midair, acting as a barrier between her and them. She started to back away when Andrew stopped her.