FUTURITY

THE STORM INSIDE

Jason stepped off the porch in stride with Rachel, who busily pulled her hair into a ponytail. Jason heard the footsteps of Leon, Jude, and Samuel behind them. Once Rachel was finished, she glanced at him.

"How do you like it here so far?" she said while zipping her leather jacket.

"It's nice to sleep in a normal bed for once," Jason said. Rachel laughed, her voice kind and warm.

"I bet," she said.

"So, how do you know Leon?"

"Dad and Leon have always been friends. I'm not sure how it worked out originally. But I think they worked together."

They stepped through the forest to the more open air of the burnt clearing.;

"Okay, blue team, take your flag and hide it on the south end of the clearing. We will hide our flag somewhere around here on the north side," Samuel said. Jason watched Rachel follow Jude toward the south end of the burnt circle, holding their blue flag. "Everyone on the red team, come over here."

Jason turned and followed Leon to where Samuel stood. When the blue team wasn't close enough to hear, Samuel began to whisper. "This is probably going to be the most interesting game of capture-the-flag you've ever played, Jason." Jason nodded and smiled.

"Jason and I go together straight up the south side. Leon, you skirt the maze as we distract them." Samuel plunged into the details of the plan, but Jason couldn't help but look at the far end of the clearing. He saw movement in a clump of trees and then a flash of gold—Rachel. "All right, now. Let's go," Samuel said, then gripped Jason's shoulder.

Jason forced himself to pay attention and follow the older man. He caught sight of Leon running to a clump of trees and then disappearing. Jason hurried to walk by Samuel's side.

"Be ready to run, Jason," Samuel whispered while looking around furtively.

Jason nodded.

Sarah reaches for Leon. Leon shakes his head. "You can't die." Jason faltered, the strange images and sounds painfully clear.

He balled his hands into fists. They came again, harder than before.

Jason winced and put his palms against his temples.

"Jason?" Samuel's distant voice said.

The screams began to rocket from one side of his brain to the other. He gasped at the force of it all. The voices drowned out his thoughts.

"Jason, are you all right?" He could hear Samuel, but he couldn't answer him.

The images came so fast; they seemed to roar in his mind's ear. He vaguely saw the real world through the haze. He knelt in a pile of ash with no memory of doing so. He could sense Samuel stood a few yards away with concern written on his face.

"We will always love you, Leon," a voice says.

Jason began to shake. He couldn't speak. He wanted to scream, cry, anything to relieve the pressured emotion inside.

"There is no hope," someone whispers.

A man smiles.

A brunette girl runs.

"Our love will never end," Sarah says.

A car races forward.

Lights flash.

The images and sounds grew in detail and volume. Jason saw people's faces, houses, cars, trucks, rooms, plants, and lights at the same moment. And Jason couldn't breathe.

Suddenly his mind paused on one scene. A momentary lull of

peace. He saw his parents' smiling faces. His father's blue eyes.

Intense sadness, more profound than he'd ever experienced, came to him. And before he could stop it, he screamed. All the agony, grief, and fear jolted through his vocal cords.

With a rush, Jason felt the trees around him, their rough bark, and their branches. He sensed the warmth of Samuel's body. And he experienced individual grains of dirt touching his mind.

Through blurry eyes, Jason saw trees begin to rise. Dirt hissed as it rushed into the air. He saw Samuel fall as the earth moved out from under him. Jason knew he was lifting it all with his mind, but he didn't know-how.

Jason screamed at the sky. He felt warm tears stream down his face. All of the images came again.

Suddenly, strong arms wrapped themselves around Jason. The mental barrage vanished as quickly as it had come and left Jason empty, sobbing. The trees and dirt crashed back to the ground, covering Jason in a brown cloud.

"It's okay, kid!" Leon's deep voice said in his ear. "It's okay."