by Tanya Allan
“A burglar had it and tried to kill me.”
“What happened?”
“He was stealing memory chips from a factory; now these babies are worth serious money, and he’d pinched over a million quid’s worth. I simply assisted him to the police station with a full confession and all the evidence. I forgot about the knife.”
“Did he try to stab you, or what?”
“He threw it at me.”
“And you ducked?”
“I don’t have to duck.”
“What?”
“Try it; throw it at me.”
“Don’t be daft.”
“Go on; nothing will happen.”
Shannon wasn’t happy, but she did. Just as when Sid threw it, the knife stopped just short of Keira’s skin and was held as if in a power beam. Keira picked it out of mid-air and folded it away again.
“See!”
Shannon sat down.
“Jeeeze,” she said, regarding her friend with different eyes. “My best friend’s a fucking superhero!”
“Look, Shannon, I’m knackered, do you think we could do this another time?”
“Can you read minds and stuff?”
“Some stuff, but not minds, no.”
“What stuff?”
“How about I show you, say tomorrow night?”
“Can I come with you?”
“What?”
“On your next jaunt, can I come too?”
“Uh, how exactly?”
“Oh; can’t you carry me?”
“Not for any great distance; not if I’ve got other stuff to do.”
“I’ll work something out,” she said, leaving her friend’s room somewhat reluctantly. At the door she paused and looked back.
“Can you disintegrate people with your eyes?”
“If you don’t bugger off and let me get some sleep, I’ll try!”
Grinning, Shannon went.
On the following morning, the two girls went down for breakfast together. Shannon wanted to ask Keira so many questions, but knew that she wasn’t likely to get any answers with everyone around.
“Do you ever use your powers, you know, in a normal day?”
Keira just gave her a look, and so Shannon raised both hands in the air in surrender.
Breakfast with almost sixty girls, between sixteen and eighteen could be a noisy place, but normally it wasn’t. The food, as Keira had discovered, was by far better than any food she had eaten in a school in her life. It was much better than her mother’s cooking if it came to it.
Over the last few months, she had grown a couple of inches in height, and certainly her figure had developed and matured, more than perhaps it should have in such a short time. The sudden development had been accelerated over a short space of time, as she had not started at a normal time for puberty.
She was a good five foot nine now, and a statuesque girl with a proportionate figure. She still ate, as her father said, like a small horse, and she clearly loved her food. Mrs Lambert always took breakfast with the girls, and on this particular morning had her eye on Keira.
She had no regrets at all over the decision to accept the girl at the college. Keira had shown that she was an intelligent girl, capable of getting on with her contemporaries and more than proficient on the sports field. Judging by what her teachers said, she should get exceptional grades at ‘A’ level, and might even go on and do her Oxbridge entrance exam.
However, there was something rather unsettling about the girl, and Doreen couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was. On those rare occasions when she had to sit in on a class, or was in a position to observe the girl, Keira was distinctly calculating. That was it; she was always assessing everything that went on around her. It was almost as if she was an undercover spy watching and logging everything she saw.
The other thing that interested Doreen was that she wasn’t like a lot of the girls, who rarely shut up. Keira spoke sparely, but whenever she did, it was always worth listening to. She was friends with Shannon, which was odd, because the Irish girl as a year ahead of Keira. They shared no classes, so it was not what anyone would have expected. They were like chalk and cheese. Keira was cool, calm and sophisticated compared to the volatile Irish girl, who, by her own admission was rather a rough diamond.
Doreen felt they complimented each other very well. Shannon had sailed very close to the wind during her first year. Boys were a major problem, and it took extreme measures to keep her away from straying down the road to the boys’ school.
She had, however, grown up a lot in her first year, and Doreen felt that this friendship further stabilised Shannon.
As she watched the pair, Shannon was oblivious, while Keira was acutely aware of the Head’s scrutiny. She was, Doreen felt, much older and wiser than her years suggested. As she met Keira’s glance, she felt a bolt of power that frightened her a little. She had to look away, as nonchalantly as she could.
What was that? Keira thought, as she watched the Lambster physically wince as the Head-mistress made eye contact with her, and then looked away hurriedly.
Was this another hidden power of the torc?
She looked at the others; all were oblivious to her and her power. There was Marcia Valentine; a rather arrogant girl who believed she was better than most here. She was deputy head-girl, and told anyone who listened that she should have been head-girl.
Keira watched her until the snotty brunette glanced her way and made eye contact.
Wham!
It happened again.
Marcia jerked slightly, as if suddenly shocked by electricity. Then she frowned and looked away, appearing slightly dazed and confused.
Keira looked down.
Okay, she told herself, this could be awkward. What was happening?
The bolt directed towards Marcia was greater than towards the Head. Why was that?
Could it be that the mildly curious got a little jolt to dissuade their curiosity, while the antagonistic received a bolt level with their negative feelings towards her?
She glanced sideways at Shannon, who grinned conspiratorially and met her eyes.
Nothing.
There was no animosity, nor was there any mental searching going on. That must be the answer. It was a defence mechanism to deter any curiosity towards the wearer, or more importantly, any negative or aggressive feelings. She would have to watch that, carefully.
As the day progressed, Keira felt as if she was outgrowing this place. She had been here just a few weeks, and yet it was as if she was destined for greater things. She had to shake that feeling away, as it was a dangerous thought. One of the most important things she learned from being Kenneth was the importance of belonging and fitting in. As Kenneth had never felt he belonged, now Keira did, she didn’t want to start believing she was so different to want to isolate herself from the world. Her strength was from being in the world and not standing out. She had to learn patience alongside her academic lessons.
She found that without the constant thoughts of being female nagging at her, she was able to give so much more to her classes. The Torc definitely helped her learn and particularly remember. In fact, she was enjoying learning more than she could ever imagine.
“Shit, you weren’t bloody kidding, were you?” Shannon said when she finally recovered the power of speech. Having been carried from the roof of the school, across the playing fields to land in the woodland some two miles away reduced the normally effervescent Shannon to a gibbering wreck.
“You pushed, and this is what you got. Do you want to go back?” Keira asked.
“No bloody way; this is so cool. I just need to get used to it, that’s all,” she said, looking at Keira’s dark form in the gloom. “Why do you wear black?”
“It’s harder for people to see me.”
“You can fly, why do you worry whether they can see you or not?”
“One, I can’t fly, not as such. And, two, I care because if they see me, they talk and that brings the press and probably
the authorities. I want to stay under the radar, that’s why.”
“If you can’t fly, what the hell do you call what you just did?” Shannon asked, looking back across the valley at the school. They’d covered a couple of miles in just a couple of minutes.
“It’s more like a jump. I can turn gravity off and jump a really long way.”
“Like on the moon?”
“More like in zero gravity, as the moon still has gravity, it’s just less than here.”
“You’ve been there?” Shannon asked.
“Don’t be daft, of course I haven’t been to the moon. But people have and we all know that there’s less gravity there.”
“Oh; could you go there, if you wanted to?” Keira turned and looked at the sliver of moon that sat low in the night sky.
“Possibly, in theory, if I had a suit and sufficient air. Neither of which I could get, so it’s pretty academic really. To be honest, why would I want to go there?”
“Hey, why not? It’s there isn’t it?”
“There’s bugger all up there,” Keira said, losing patience.
“You could check the conspiracy theories that say the yanks never went there.”
“And then what? I couldn’t exactly go public, could I?”
“Oh, I never thought of that.”
“Clearly. Look, I’ve probably thought of all these things, and discounted most of them. I’m still learning my powers and abilities, so just keep your silly ideas to yourself. The most important thing for me is not to shine out and be seen. Can you understand that?”
“With all those mobile phones with cameras out there, you’ll find it hard.”
“I know, so that’s why I go out at night and dress in black.”
“You should have a mask.”
“One of the burglars said that.”
“How many have you grabbed?”
“Two, so far. It’s not as easy as I thought. They don’t advertise what they’re doing and when.”
“Stuff the burglars; I’d go after the terrorists.”
Keira frowned.
“Why?”
“They’re like you, trying to keep under the radar. It stands to reason that they’ll work hard to keep out of the sight of the authorities, so that would be perfect for you.”
Keira had not thought of that.
“How fast can you fly, or jump?”
“I reckon I can move at around seventy miles an hour, probably more if pushed. With you dragging us down, it was about forty.”
“So, what else can you do?”
Keira showed her some; not all.
“This is awesome! Okay, now I know why you don’t want anyone to know,” said Shannon. “Why did you tell me; I’d have accepted a story about visiting a boy?”
“Lies are harder to keep up than the truth. Besides, have you any idea how lonely it is not being able to share it?”
“Does anyone else know?”
“One other; a girl from my last school; she was my only friend, I suppose.”
“That is really sad.”
“Oh, Connie is okay; she’s a bit gullible. I told her I was an alien, and I think she still believes it.”
“That is so awesome.”
“I’d just become aware of my powers and, well, it was a bit of fun.”
“May I see it again?”
“The torc?”
“Yes.”
Keira took it off and handed it to Shannon.
“I still can’t move it,” she said.
“I didn’t think you would. I think it’s sort of keyed into me and my DNA or my brainwaves.”
“If you left it off for a while, would it have to reboot or something?”
“I have no idea, and I don’t intend to find out.”
Shannon turned it over and over.
“It’s too light and slender to have any technical junk inside; so it must be magic or something like that.”
“It could be alien, and they were far more technically advanced than us.”
“How did it get here?”
Keira shrugged. She didn’t like being without it. Shannon sensed her unease and passed it back, surprised at the ease with which Keira opened it and placed it back where it belonged.
“I’m jealous,” Shannon said with a grin.
“Sorry, but as far as I know, this is the only one.”
“Are we going to nab a burglar tonight?” Shannon asked.
“No, I’m knackered from last night. We’ll go back and get some sleep.”
Shannon wasn’t heavy, as the device managed to nullify weight, but not mass. By using the power of the torc to keep Shannon close to her, she was able to jump with her wrapping her arms around Keira’s waist. It was cumbersome, but stable.
“What the hell?” Shannon said, as they were in the middle of the first jump.
This surprised Keira, who was already looking for the next landing point to change direction to keep on course for getting them to the school. The problem with this means of travel, was once you had the velocity, one could not stop or accelerate. One could only turn the gravity up and so head down to the ground, or lose it to attain greater height.
“What?” she asked, simply staying on the same bearing.
“There’s a van moving down there with no lights on.”
Keira couldn’t see it, as they’d passed it by the time this information was passed. She started losing height, and landed heavily at the edge of a field.
“Where?” she asked.
“Back there, in the trees. There was a track or something through the woods.”
“How far?”
“Hell, I don’t know; perhaps about a quarter of the way back the way we’ve just come.”
“Stay here!” she said, and took a smaller jump.
“Shit!” said Shannon, disappointed.
She found Shannon’s judgement of distance quite accurate, as there was a track in the woods. It was the sort of track that forestry vehicles use once a year and for the rest of the time dog-walkers and horses keep the weeds at bay.
She could not see a vehicle, but she could smell the exhaust fumes. She jumped back to where Shannon waited.
“Come on, I can’t see the van, but it was there.”
Grasping her friend, Keira jumped back to the last place she had been and the two girls proceeded on foot.
“Stay behind me.”
“Why?”
“I’m bullet proof, you’re not!”
Shannon ducked behind her friend without a delay.
“Who owns these woods?”
Keira shrugged, as she didn’t know.
“What do you reckon? Poachers?”
“Shannon, shut the fuck up!”
They walked for a few hundred metres, and then they saw a brief flash of a light; it was a flashlight or a lantern. Keira stopped and motioned for Shannon to get behind a tree.
“Wait her while I have a look. Don’t come out, as it could be dangerous.”
“But....”
“Shannon, this isn’t a game, so stay there. Oh, and silence your damn mobile, as I know you’ve brought it and knowing our luck, one of your daft boyfriends will ring you up just at the wrong moment.”
“I’ll switch it off.”
“No, just silence it. We may have to call the police and if it’s off, we will have extra wait while it warms up.”
“Oh, okay,” Shannon said, fiddling with the phone in question.
“Done!”
Keira relaxed slightly, as Shannon’s phone was well known for going off at all the wrong moments.
“Now, stay here!”
“Yes boss.”
“No, I know you, and your curiosity is going to get us killed, so stay here, I mean it.”
“Okay already!”
Keira left her friend, not trusting her to do as she was told for a moment, and moved towards where they’d seen the flash of light.
As she got closer to the spot, she made out some shapes
in the gloom. There was a hut here; a rough, forestry hut, with one door and no windows. The side facing her was around twenty feet long. The dark-coloured van was parked next to it. Everything was in darkness.
She could hear muffled voices, and they weren’t that far away. She heard the breaking twigs first, so she knew that someone was moving close to the hut.
Someone stumbled, probably tripped by a fallen branch or similar.
“Bloody hell!” said a female voice, an Indian or Pakistan intonation with a marked London accent.
“What?” said a male voice of a similar pedigree, but lacking the London bit.
“These damn sticks; why don’t they come and tidy the place up?” said the woman.
The man just laughed.
“It’s not funny, I’ve grazed my leg.”
Two figures came round the side of the hut. They went to the back of the van and one of them opened it. Next came the sounds of them sliding something heavy along the metal floor of the van, and she could hear their grunts as they lifted it from the back of the van.
Suddenly Keira was aware of a good deal of noise and wheezing behind her, as Shannon plonked herself down beside her.
“What part of ‘stay there’ didn’t you understand?” Keira hissed at her.
“Fuck me; it was bloody frightening back there. Something hooted at me!”
Keira groaned.
“That was an owl, dummy!”
“What’s happening?” Shannon asked.
“Two people and they’re taking something heavy from the van.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know, because some lumbering git came and distracted me!”
The girls watched as one of the figures returned and stood, looking vaguely their way. The other figure returned.
“What is it, Shamin?” said the male.
“I thought I heard something,” the woman, Shamin, said.
“What?”
“I don’t know. I hate these woods; they give me the creeps.”
“You’re a city girl, there’s nothing out there except for foxes and stuff.”
“Do foxes bite?”
“Probably, but they’ll be more scared of us than we are of them.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure.”
“Seriously, there’s nobody there.”
They stood, waiting and listening, while the two girls stayed still. Keira maintained a vice-like grip of her friend’s wrist, just in case.
