Halapatov

Chapter Three

"Abigail, you're in!" cried Jayne, one of my childhood friends, and I giggled happily as she and the other kids ran off.

"Alright!" I called after them, and placed my hands over my eyes, so I couldn't see them while they all ran and hid and I waited 100 seconds. We were playing a simple game known as hide-and-go-seek to the people of Earth, who I had not heard of at the time. I was seven, surrounded by friends and with no knowledge of the future that was soon to wrap tight around me.

I could hear the sounds of my friends scurrying all around, surveying hiding places to determine a good spot. I'd always been good at this game, and anticipated that I'd be easily able to find everyone. That was, until something completely unexpected happened.

As I stood there, counting slowly in my head, a strange sight appeared before my eyes, despite my eyelids covering them fully. I stared, as best as I could with my eyes shut, at the unmoving, grotesque, glistening orbs with veins and ciliary muscle extending from the sides. I looked inquisitively at the black circle in the centre of the disgusting white sphere, and the swirling grey ring around it and then I began to hyperventilate as I realized the truth. Somehow, I was seeing my own eyes, within my body!

I ripped my hands away from my face and the image disappeared, but I would remember it forever. That didn't calm me down though, because the next moment more things flooded my mind, overwhelming me in a resounding heap. Voices, images and memories all striking me clearly, making me understand them, every conversation, every emotion, every moment.

I had never experienced anything like this before. I was a child, and I was scared. It was as if my brain was overloading, and as I clutched at my hair, trying to keep the images at bay, I gave in and screamed, louder than I had ever managed in my short life.

"Abigail?" I heard frantic voices, but they seemed distant, and I could hardly focus on them. The kids I was playing with emerged from their hiding places to see me. It must have been a strange sight. I was struggling against my own mind, writhing as if from an invisible attack, and screaming high and clear. Naturally they were worried. "What's wrong? Abigail!"

This was where my powers of understanding kicked in. Everything suddenly made sense around me; my peripheral senses took in the positioning of the sun and told me the exact time, my brain told me every function of every organ and muscle in my body, I knew the temperature, the distance away exactly of everything around me, and most of all I could read every emotion on everybody's face. Most of the people around me, like Jayne, Zax and Sierra, were worried about me, confused and starting to panic. Runer, on the other hand, though he tried to look concerned, was just annoyed that the game had been interrupted.

As the pain from the data streaming through my mind rose to a crescendo, it was as if something new awoke within me. The ends of my fingers sparked, as if buzzing with electricity, and then the air particles around me heated up, excited by the friction that I had subconsciously caused. I started to freak out even more, staring at my hands and then at my friends. Realizing the danger, I threw my hands out towards them, urging them to not come any nearer.

That was a mistake.

The movement affected my powers even more, whipping up a ferocious wind. The air crackled, still heating up, and small objects flew upwards. Sticks, toys and tiny rocks spun around us, and the other kids ducked and started to scream. I screamed again as well.

This was the most bewildering thing that had ever happened to me, but my powers allowed me to understand why; it was all caused by my advanced mind. I can't say mental powers are unprecedented in paladanians but they are rare and this was just insane.