“Calli, good job, you remembered
your shirt,” she smiled at me. “Most forget and I have to send them back up to
their room. Come with me.” I followed her out into the main foyer where she
turned and said, “It is vitally important you follow every direction while
outside after dark.”
“I will.” We exited the front doors
into the bright floodlights and crisp mountain air. She led me toward what
appeared to be a tool shed at the edge of the property where we stopped beneath
another redundant floodlight.
“Calli, the Shadow Demons are found
in absolute darkness after sunset. They are drawn to people of powers because
they themselves once held powers, but for some reason are trapped in a
suspended state of, well, hell. These lights are the only thing keeping us
safe. Around the corner it is completely dark and is where we’ll find the
Demons. Stay in the light.”
We walked to the edge of the shed,
staying in the light and I peered into the darkness. I said, “I can’t see
anything.”
“Regardless, we know they are in
there. Many people of powers have been devoured by them. Now, I will
demonstrate to you what happens if you wander into the shadows at night. Hand
me your shirt.” I handed it to her and watched as she pulled out one of her own
and wadded the two together like one would when forming a snowball. She then
tossed the wad into the shadows. I gasped in terror at the sight of the unnaturally
suspended shirts shredding in mid air. It was like nothing I’d ever seen
before. The only thing to be heard was the woven cotton being ripped apart. The
eerie sound reminded me of when my mother tore old sheets into rags. I stared
in utter amazement as her shirt was reduced to a small pile of confetti sized
pieces which glided softly to the ground. Mine was ripped into long, large
strips and was already on the ground.
“What was that?! Was that a trick? What
happened to our shirts?” My heart raced faster than I’d ever felt before. No
logical explanation could describe what I’d just witnessed.
“Our scents on the shirts were
enough for the Shadow Demons to attack. Lesson number one; stay out of the
shadows or that will be the last thing you do. Oh, and that pile of shirt
remains is more than what would remain of you. Let’s get back inside.”
Once inside the safety of her
office, she began telling me more.
“A Runner’s abilities surface in
puberty, and like with you, I was present with the purpose to protect you until
we arrived here. The other existing superhuman abilities show up at any point
in life and sometimes come out slowly. One consistent element to all people of
powers is their fear of the dark. It’s as if they can sense the danger awaiting
them. The instinctual hesitation actually saves their lives but incapacitates
the individual causing the development of agoraphobia. Some therapists, who
specialize in the treatment of severe fear of darkness, or nyctophobia, are
people of powers and they help the patient by introducing them to their
appropriate clans.
“Something else, Calli, another
reason I was present at your track meet was to protect you from being
kidnapped.”
“I don’t understand.”
“There is a splinter-group which
broke away from the Healers and they call themselves Immortals; in reference to
the ancient legend of clansmen who cannot die. Everyone else refers to them as
the Death Clan due to the fact they can bring about your death by merely
thinking about it. Some call them the Death-by-Thoughts or DBTs. As a group,
they efficaciously heal each other’s infirmities thus keeping each other alive
longer than nature allows. They cannot heal themselves, the same as a Healer
cannot and they have one major restriction to their abilities; they need to see
you to be able to kill you. With this in mind, the question remains as to why
this clan might try to kidnap you. The DBTs like to capture emerging Runners
and force them to be their ‘slaves’; to be their legs. When a person of powers holds
hands with a Runner, the running ability is passed on to the tethered person.
We’ve lost more than a few clan members to the Death Clan and also to the
Hunters. It is always extremely sad when we lose someone, especially because
our power is the only one the Seers can foresee emerging. It simply shouldn’t
ever happen.”
“Hunters kidnap Runners too? I
don’t understand. Why doesn’t the Runner just run away from the Immortal-Death-Dudes
or Hunters?”
“The captives are guarded and
killed if they try to escape. Quite often they are threatened that their loved
ones will be harmed, so they stay put to save their families. You would also obey
if you thought one wrong move would threaten your parents’ lives. The DBTs also
kidnap people from the other clans using whatever emotional control they can
find to keep them from fleeing.”
I nodded with a tight knot in my
throat.
“We employ other people of powers
as do the other clans, not kidnap them and force them to do our biding. We
respect their abilities and compensate them for their help.”
“Clara, what exactly do you do?”
Her confused expression told me she
didn’t understand the question.
“Collectively, I mean, normal
people get up and go to work, or to school or other things. They revolve around
schedules and events. But what do people of powers do?”
Mrs. Winter sat all the way back
into her chair and rested her head on the plush headrest. She took a deep
breath and exhaled. “They live life as they know it, the same as anyone else. You’ve
just described what normal life is to you, but what do the members of the
Aboriginal tribes of Australia do from day to day? How about the African tribal
communities, what do they do? Consider the people in Thailand or China or
Norway, what do they do every day? Are you following me, Calli? This is a matter
of perspective, what’s normal for you isn’t normal for others.”
“Oh.”
Wow
, I’d never thought
about it like that before. In fact, I’d never really looked outside my own
realm of life. It’s so easy to get caught up in my own life and, as Mrs. Winter
so eloquently pointed out, my life is only normal for
me
. I decided to
be more aware of other human beings and their daily struggles. The discussion
brought a different question to my mind. “What do you think the percentage is
of normal humans to people of powers worldwide?”
“At present, around one million
people with superhuman abilities.”
“That’s a lot!”
“No, not quite. One in every seven
thousand people will exhibit powers. I believe seven thousand is around the
population of your hometown. You might be the only person in your whole town
with powers. The world is a large place with a dwindling fertility rate. I
suspect the number of new people of powers will eventually drop to dismal
numbers.”
“Clara, you said you are a Runner. Do
you ever go on assignments?”
“Yes, I am, and no, I do not run
assignments. There is always new blood coming into the clan; younger blood. So,
at some point you make the personal choice of stepping away from the elite and
entering the rest. I chose to help at the compound. I’m an instructor/operator
along with several other adults. Most retired clan members leave and enter
mainstream life, keeping their ability a secret.” Her voice didn’t hold any
enthusiasm.
“What does your husband do?” I
asked.
“I’m not married.”
“You’re not? Your name is Mrs.
Winter—” Realization hit me, she must be a widow. Oh splendid! Open mouth,
insert foot.
“I was married, but he discovered
my ability and left. I keep the name because we never officially divorced. So,
I guess I am technically married.”
I picked up on her bitterness right
away. “I’m sorry. It wasn’t my place to ask.”
“No, it’s alright. I guess my advice
to you would be if you decide to get married find someone with abilities to
avoid heartache later. It’s hard enough to stay married without the extra
challenge of powers.”
“I bet. Well, I’m not the kind of
girl who goes looking for guys and they certainly don’t come clamoring for me,”
I scoffed at myself with a chuckle.
“I don’t believe you. You are a
beautiful girl, Calli. You’ll be fighting off the boys with a paddle, but I
will say, promiscuous behavior at the compound is not allowed.”
“I can totally imagine myself
smacking boys with a paddle,” I laughed, “but not because they are interested
in me. And as far as promiscuous behavior goes, well, you don’t need to worry
about me.”
“Good. I would like to tell you
what you can expect tomorrow. Whenever we are given a delivery assignment, a
leadership trio is selected to carry out the task. Time trials determine the
fastest and the slowest of the clan and then those two decide together who the
third will be. My approval must be met before the trio can continue. Often a
team of protectors or running companions is selected depending on the danger of
the mission. There will be an accompanying team with this mission and the
fastest and slowest will hand select the team. No breakfast will be served
before the trials and, once it is completed, the selected team will be quickly
outfitted and sent off.”
I figured she was telling me this
because she knew I would be the fastest and would be going on the assignment
tomorrow. It was nice for her to give me a heads up. “Clara, some of the others
suspect this delivery is connected with the missing Runners. What do you
think?”
“The timing is right. Anything is
possible. In the morning, dress into the workout clothing Stella will give you.
The trial begins at eight o’clock sharp. You’d better go on up to bed to get
your full rest,” She winked at me.
Yep, she knows I will be on the delivery
team.
I left her office and went straight
to bed. Beth was already asleep so I didn’t have to endure her torturous
attitude; that was pleasant.
I awoke to find Beth gone so I
hurried and dressed in my training outfit perusing myself in the mirror. Glancing
out the window, I saw a small gathering of adults out by the same tool shed
Mrs. Winter and I visited last night. One of them wore similar clothing as mine
and upon closer inspection I recognized Chris. The group talked as they looked
at the place where Mrs. Winter had thrown our shirts. I couldn’t tell what was
being said until they began to head back to the building. Mrs. Winter was
speaking to a man I didn’t recognize. She said, “…and her speed is unlike any
I’ve ever seen.” They moved out of sight. My eyes went back to Chris who still
stood by the tool shed. He bent and picked up my large pieces of shirt,
carefully folded the clothing strips and tucked them into his pocket before
turning toward the school.
Chapter 4
Maetha and the Sanguine Diamond
Time trials were not what I expected.
I guess in my mind I figured we’d run on an oval track with a starter’s gun
telling us when to leap forward and a finish line determining when to stop
running. Not at all.
The first event was an individual
run through the trees to the top of a hill and back down. No trail or even an
outlined course, only the simple direction of going to the top and coming back.
But I wouldn’t call it a run; it was more like a jog with a lot of climbing up
and over and dodging this and that. I wasn’t even certain how a winner was
determined for this event.
The next event was like a military
obstacle course complete with a string of tires and a climbing wall. Is this
training or a speed test? What difference did it make if we could swing from a
rope? We were Runners. Three of us ran the course together. I hurried through
keeping an eye on my two opponents. They seemed to be taking care to place
their feet directly in the center of each tire and to make their movement
rhythmic. I just wanted to win, and I did. Well, at least I placed first in my group,
I think.
The final event, the one I’d been
waiting for, came and went. The only good thing about it was Beth smiled at me
and said I did great. I didn’t understand what happened; I didn’t understand
why I was so slow. I certainly didn’t try to throw the race like Beth had said
to do, no, I went into this determined to kick everyone’s butt. But the only
butt kicking to be had was my own.
This race had a starting point and
an ending point with a smooth terrain free of bumps. This was my moment to
shine, to run as fast as I thought my legs would take me; to blow their socks
off.
I ran as hard as I could, and yet I
watched the backsides of everyone else get further and further ahead of me
until I couldn’t see them anymore. When I crossed the finish line, they all
cheered, or more like jeered. Some of them said I ran faster than any human,
but it only insulted me further. One particular girl came up with a genuine
smile and patted me on the back.
“Thanks, Calli. Now I’m not the
slowest muck anymore. I won’t have to go on the assignment.”
I shook my head in confusion. I had
run so fast the trees blurred as they flew by. The skin on my face was forced
back by the air retention because I was moving so rapidly. But I was the
slowest!
I was crushed and humiliated;
I
am
a muck.
Mrs. Winter came over to me. At
first I thought she would chastise me for going so slow, but she congratulated
me on my speed and instructed me to wait for her in her office.
As I entered her office a few
minutes later, I was shocked to find Chris. He stood up nervously from his
chair upon seeing me. I stopped and took a step back, “Sorry, I didn’t mean
to—um, Mrs. Winter told me to wait here.”
“Because you finished last,” he
stated rather dryly and sat back down.
“Well, yeah.” It occurred to me
that Mrs. Winter
did
know I’d be going on the delivery, but as the
slowest. Chris must have placed first and that’s why he’s here in Mrs. Winter’s
office.