by C. Louis S.
Leon waited impatiently for his parents to go to bed. He hadn’t heard their door close downstairs, so he sat at the desk in his room. The glow from his phone shone in his eyes. He should have been reading the library books in front of him, but without his friend Randall around, reading about dark energy in books wasn’t nearly as exciting.
World History by Kaz Warwick Volume I and The Secrets of Dark by Aria Shaw were still opened on his desk, but Leon started playing a game on his phone. It was a simple game. Run through the level, avoid the obstacles, smash as many robots with a hammer as possible, and earn upgrades. At the end of his first run, Leon earned ten seconds of basking. This meant that he could choose a color and for ten seconds his phone’s screen would shine that color intensely. It was the most rewarding part of playing these games.
He chose green because that’s the only one that would enhance his superpowers. After ten seconds of being exposed to this shade of green light, he could feel the green energy within him grow stronger. His flashlight would last a little longer or be a little brighter if he wished to use it. Use it for what? Someday I’ll be able to choose a better color.
And suddenly he heard it. Mother and Father’s door closed which meant they were off to bed. They would stay in bed with their phones for another hour, but they probably wouldn’t hear anything over the videos they would be watching.
Leon slipped down to the unfinished basement.
In complete darkness, he sat cross-legged on a rug. He slowed his breathing to a rhythmic beat. It sounded in his ears like the tick tock of a soothing clock. He was focused, but he didn’t know what to focus on.
He pictured himself apparating around the room. He pictured himself using his mind to move objects. He pictured himself floating above the carpet and then soaring out the window into the sky.
Leon peaked through one eye at the dusty cardboard box he had put near him to see if it had moved. His eyes hadn’t quite adjusted to the lack of light, but he was pretty sure the box was still where he put it.
He closed his eye and concentrated again.
Lift the box. Fly. Teleport to the chair.
He felt nothing.
Frustrated, he tried to remember what Randall had read from the library books. Something about getting the dark energy into your body by calling upon it and willing it into you.
“Oh great Dark Energy,” Leon began. “If you can hear me, please enter my body. Make me fly. Make me teleport. Make me mindbend.”
Nothing happened.
Next, he tried sucking it in through his nose. He breathed deeply as if pulling smoke in through his nose.
Nothing happened.
Next, Leon tried reaching out with his whole body. He didn’t know exactly what he was doing, but in his mind, he was using his body as a magnet to pull in dark energy. He pictured his body as a sponge, soaking up all the dark power around him, if there was any.
Leon felt something. He felt the room get even darker. He didn’t dare open his eyes, but he didn’t need to. He felt something. With his mind he was persuading it to enter him. He coaxed and pulled it into him.
His body felt empowered, strengthened. It was like his reserve of green light that he felt within him, but different. There was more of it, too. He would have had to bask for hours in green light to get this much power.
Suddenly fear overcame his concentration. It’s too much, he thought. Too much. He couldn’t handle this much power. It would overcome him. It would crumple his body like paper. His body shook. His mind turned to despair. His breathing became short and uncontrolled.
No! More power. I must have more. I am more than a lantern.
He took command of his mind and body. He took a deep breath and then controlled his breathing once again: long, slow breaths. He focused his mind again on his task, and his body followed. It ceased shaking and instead relaxed.
Shoulders dropped, arms elevated ever so slightly, and legs relaxed open.
Teleport.
Mindbend.
Fly.
Nothing was happening. He peeked at the box again, but it was still in the same spot.
Teleport. Mindbend. Fly.
The dark energy continued to soak into his body. His muscles began to burn like battery acid. He felt like he was going to burst. But he kept going. He pushed on through the pain.
Apparate to the chair. Fly. Move the box. Teleport. Fly. Mindbend.
Suddenly, as Leon felt like his body was actually bursting, he opened his eyes in pain and saw a green, glowing, translucent object in his hand. It disappeared almost as soon as it appeared.
Leon scampered backwards, breathing heavily. He felt that his reserve of green light within him was gone, as well as the dark energy that he had gathered.
As Leon’s breathing slowed, he was able to think a little more clearly. The glowing object had been an exact replica of the box that was in front of him on the floor, but the real box hadn’t moved.
A smile crept across his face. That was cool! I don’t know what it was, but it was awesome.
chapter 3
Randall
