Extraordinary Individuals : Josiah Rising

Chapter 10

In my dream, I stood in the middle of a street downtown with a storm raging overhead. The winds whipped at my clothes and hair, forcing me to squint so that I could see. In front of me was the silhouette of a person but I couldn't make out who they were yet they seemed to be controlling the storm since their left hand was raised into the air. Lightning came down from the sky and danced along the sides of the buildings, ripping through them. The person controlling the storm suddenly started walking towards me, causing the storm to intensify as well.
Who is that?! I thought.
Just as the person finally stepped into my vision, the dream ended and I woke up covered in a cold sweat, gasping for air as I gripped my covers. My body was cold and shivering, my breath labored. Remembering the breathing exercises my mom had taught me, I closed my eyes and slowed my breathing until I felt calm and steady.
It was just a dream, just a dream.
So why had it felt so real? Whoever the silhouette was in my dream had a very destructive ability to be able to conjure up a storm powerful enough to destroy buildings. Shaking off the lingering feeling from my dream, I checked my phone to see what time it was. It was eleven o'clock at night which meant I had been sleep since I got home around seven. Based on how quiet the house was I had to assume that everyone in my family was sleep too. I was debating on going back to sleep when my phone starting vibrating with an incoming FaceTime call from Becky. Rubbing the sleep from eyes and propping my phone up so I could lay down while talking to her, I answered the call. Becky came into the camera with her hair in a messy bun and a charcoal gray hoodie on, typing away at her computer.
"Hola, Bestie," she said with a smile.
"Hola, Chica," I chuckled. "You're up late."
Becky sighed and rolled her eyes. "I forgot to do my lab report for physics so I here am at eleven o'clock at night. Wanna keep me company?"
I'd rather be sleeping, I thought but I kept that to myself.
"Sure. That way I can tell you about my study date with Yasmine today," I said.
Becky snorted. "Your new friend?"
Her tone had some infliction in it and what sounded like jealousy but I brushed it off and proceeded to tell her about everything that happened, including Mrs Knight knowing about my powers. Becky shot me a worried glance through the phone at that particular part, her eyebrows furrowing.
"Should we be worried?" She asked. "Just because she claims she won't tell Yasmine, doesn't mean that we can trust her."
I nodded. "Especially if I do something she doesn't like. But all I can do is just hope that she lets me tell Yasmine on my own terms."
Becky sighed. "She just had to have an ability that lets her know other people's powers."
Tell me about it, I thought to myself.
I wondered how many people she had used her power on. It was activated through touch and eye contact so had I not shook her hand today then she probably would've never discovered my powers in the first place. Guess that's what I get for trying to be polite and make a good first impression.
"What do you make of the promise she's making me keep to her?" I asked, propping myself up on my elbow. "Don't you think it's weird that she chose me specifically?"
Becky pondered for a moment, chewing her bottom lip as she thought about my question. It honestly was weird to me that Mrs Knight had asked me specifically to protect Yasmine. Aside from my self defense training and my body now being able to handle fifteen percent of my full power, I wasn't capable of protecting anybody. During my fight with Kato, I had primarily relied on my instincts and hand to hand skills to win. Had Kato been fighting to kill, I probably wouldn't be here. And during my sparring match with Braxton I had only won because I had managed to unlock a new facet of my powers. Up against someone who wanted me dead, I wouldn't last long. Wits, instincts and luck would only get me so far which made it all the more pertinent that I learned to control my powers at a higher level than fifteen percent. I made a mental promise to myself to start working out three days a week instead of my usual two as well as to buy a weighted vest. I also needed to up my fighting skills from just basic defensive skills so that I could better hold my own when I wasn't able to use my powers.
"You're thinking awfully hard over there," Becky remarked. "You're even mumbling to yourself."
I chuckled nervously. I had a bad habit of mumbling to myself whenever my mind was on overdrive. It helped me to better organize my ideas instead of trying to keep everything in my head. It was a trait I had picked up from my late grandpa. He would often mumble to himself when he was doing his work and according to him it helped him to stay focused and organized.
"All ways around," I said finally, "I intend to keep the promise. I have to make sure that I'm capable enough to keep her safe though."
"What do you mean?" Becky asked, peering at the phone.
"My current power output is fifteen percent but it causes a lot of strain on my body because I'm not used to it," I explained. "If I wanna get used to my powers, I have to get used to using them at higher percentages just in case the situation calls for it. In order to do that I have to train my body even more than I already have."
"How're you gonna do that?" Becky asked.
I thought about it. Layla had suggested weighted calisthenics in order to get my body used to the strain that fifteen percent put on it. But I would also need to increase my muscle mass so that I could go above fifteen percent if I ever really needed to. That would mean adding more reps or an extra five or ten pounds to my weightlifting routines. I explained my plan to Becky and her eyes widened in surprise then she nodded in understanding.
"That does make sense if you think about it," she said thoughtfully. "But you don't wanna be too big or else you'll slow down."
I nodded in a agreement. "My current weight is one hundred and ninety, so I was thinking of increasing my weight to two hundred pounds even. I'll have to start eating more as well in order to increase my muscle size. I'm going to start doing more sparring sessions with my dad to stay lean and increase my stamina and endurance."
Becky laughed to herself. "I sometimes forget how analytical your mind is when it comes to your powers and how to better use them. That's one of the more unnatural things about you, Bestie."
"How so?" I asked, genuinely curious.
Becky gestured with her hands. "You're highly analytical. You always find ways to solve a problem or figure out a situation with just your intelligence. Your intelligence is unnatural, almost like you're a genius."
I waved my hand dismissively. "It's part of my habit to overthink simple things. I honestly hate it but it's part of the reason I came up with the idea to spread my tactile telekinesis throughout my body instead of focusing it in a single concentrated burst."
Our conversation continued like this for another hour or so before Becky told me she was gonna get some sleep and call me later to hangout if she wasn't busy. After she hung up, I laid in my bed staring up at the ceiling as my mind raced. I was making slow but steady progress with my powers and I was honestly satisfied with that but I needed to get better. The biggest thing I wanted to master was the energy blasts that I could now generate. I had resolved to only fire an energy beam from my chest as a last ditch effort if my back was against the wall and I needed a sure fire way to win. For now, I needed to focus on being able to continuously fire energy from my hands and being able to continuously use tactile telekinesis at fifteen percent with little to no strain. That's when it hit me, and I came up with probably my craziest idea yet.