Gifted

Chapter Fourteen

After the nightmare, I had trouble getting back to sleep. Even after I finally managed to drift off, I tossed and turned the remainder of the night. I woke up bleary eyed on Saturday; my eyelids felt like sandpaper. It was too early to head down for breakfast, and the sunshine spilling through the window demanded my attention. It was a cool damp morning, but with the sun shining, the promise of a nice day hung in the air. I thought about seeking Chase out right away, but decided I wanted a few moments to experiment on my own. A morning run seemed like a good way to clear my head.

My mind swam with an overload of information. If what Chase said was true, and I could feel it was; then there were others. There weren't just a few people like me; there were enough to have a Council. What had he said about me being just as fast? Could I jump out of windows too? Suddenly, I had the impulse to find out. I grabbed my shoes, shoving my feet in them while I hopped over to the window. I threw the window open with a new sense of conviction and...totally chickened out the moment I looked at the ground. Maybe this wasn't the right place to start. I sighed and spotted the trail nestled in the trees. Grabbing my keys off the desk; I ventured out into the bright morning.

Rounding the back of the dorm, I headed up the path, and walked for quite a while. As I walked I played the conversation with Chase over in my head. Once I was a good distance away from the school I stopped and stared ahead at the dirt path. How was it even possible? I took off running as fast as I could. I was no faster than I had ever been and that wasn't saying much. I stopped and tried again. This maddening game continued until I was on the ground gasping for breath. I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them.

Maybe Chase was wrong. Maybe changing my hair and occasionally moving objects was as far as my "powers" went. I closed my eyes resting my head on the tree I was leaning against. I thought hard, how did I change my hair? The goose bumps I always felt on my arms and neck... I jumped up and stared down the path. My own heart beat filled my ears, concentrating hard I could hear nothing else. I visualized myself running so fast I was a blur. It was slow, almost non-existent and then the tingles began to spread. I could feel the power down to my fingertips, but I refused to let it break my concentration. I used it. The path and trees in front of me started to blur around the edges. Instinct took over as I pushed myself harder. The wind fought against me the first couple of steps I took, and then it was gone. I was faster than the wind, it couldn't touch me.

I could feel my feet kicking up dirt as I dug in and focused on the tunnel vision. I felt a pang in my side as my body protested. I wasn't used to this much exertion. I stopped way too fast, like someone turned off a treadmill in mid-stride. My body continued forward as my legs came to a stop. Before I could catch myself, I hit the ground.

I sat up spitting while trying to suck in as much oxygen as I could. It was awesome! Well, aside from the mud facial. I felt so free, like a whole new world was open to me. I spent the next couple of hours running and trying to jump. I felt more alive and excited than ever. Almost like the part of me that had been ripped out was being filled. Not like I was whole, but like the pain had been muted. I was eager now to finish my conversation with Chase. Eager to hear about this strange life I had been completely unaware of until now. I was ready to listen.

I must have been pretty far from the school now. It gave me an excellent reason to run back to campus and try out my new talent. I ran as fast as I could in what must have only been a couple of minutes. I could see the red brick of the dorm between the trees and learning from my lesson earlier, eased up slowly. I walked out of the trees and slumped against the side of the school. I was definitely going to have to start working out more. Eventually, I stood up on shaky gelatin legs and wobbled my way back into the lobby.