Strength (The Descendant Trilogy)

by Theresa M. Jones

  Chapter 3

  Power

  When I woke up, I was sweating and shaking. My covers had spilled to the floor and I lay on my bed trying to figure out what the crap just happened. I thought about going to my mom, but who the heck still runs to their mommy when they have a bad dream? So I just got up, went to the bathroom and splashed my face with cool water, allowing it to wash over me and drip down. I told myself over and over again, it was just a bad dream. A bad dream. A bad dream… and somehow I managed to crawl back to bed.

  ~~~

  The next day, the dream was just a bad memory. Something I buried deep down inside me hoping to forget much sooner rather than later.

  I went to my class, which was my first task this morning. Learned some stuff about history. Well, I didn’t really pay attention, so I don’t know if I actually learned anything at all.

  “Hey, Sam, you okay?” Andrew asked when I went to sit down with my friends for lunch. Andrew was, like always, totally dreamy. He was wearing blue jeans and a Brand New t-shirt. But his hair was kinda spiked and his eyes were glowing ocher.

  “Yeah. Just haven’t slept too well lately.”

  He nodded, just as the others did. None of us slept very well. Either we didn’t have parents, or our parents were constantly risking their lives to try and save this damned world. But usually I was okay. I knew my parents were super strong and ultra-powerful, so I didn’t worry as much for them. The dream last night just threw me off my game.

  “Who are you training with today?” Amber asked. Amber was dark skinned, with pitch-black hair and brown eyes. Sometimes I envied her, for how smooth and soft her skin was. She was like, epic pretty. Stunning.

  I knew that she would be with the teachers today. She often went with them, having descended from Minerva, she was already showing traits of being a powerful teacher. They helped her, taught her how to teach others, the way only they can.

  “I have to spend time with Gabby again, so I’ll be training with her to learn how to affect emotions.” It was something I wasn’t the best at, so I was pretty much okay with learning more. But it kinda irked me Gabby was already better than me at it.

  Not to mention, if it wasn’t for her, I would be with the artists, where I wanted to be. The artists are those that have descended from Arabella and have at least one talent in art- dancing, painting, playing music, singing- stuff like that. I loved dancing and painting, and I would spend all my time with them if I could. I was currently working on an abstract painting of a beach, which was a little hard since I’d never even seen one in real life.

  Amber just nodded at me. She knew how I felt about it. She knew where I would rather be.

  I spent the entire day following Gabby around. I got the wonderful privilege to watch her use way too much Power, and trying to get her to rein it in. Which wasn’t easy, she was only eight years old and at times very frustrating.

  Then I got to have a few serious discussions with her about the use of her Power, and what we do and don’t do with it.

  “Listen, Gab, you can’t just unleash it all. You have to hold it in some.” I told her after she made every person in the room so in love with each other they all started kissing. I kinda wondered if she had made everyone a little lustful, but she didn’t even know anything about that emotion yet. Nevertheless, some of the people there were married but kissing other people that weren’t their spouses because they all of a sudden were madly in love with them. So twisted and so not okay.

  “But I did hold it in,” she whined.

  “Not enough! You need to do better. You were only supposed to make people care more about each other, not fall freakin in love.” I noticed I was almost shouting, but I was just so tired of this. So tired of telling her what to do. So tired of watching her all the time. So tired of it all.

  “I tried, Sammy.” She always called me Sammy, even when no one else did anymore, except mom sometimes.

  “You didn’t try hard enough. Now you have to fix it. These people already care about other people. You need to take it back. Fix this!” I was shouting now, no maybes anymore.

  I saw a tear slide down her cheek as she turned to face them. She placed her arms at her side, and her long blond hair that had spilled down her back started to lift into the air, changing into the familiar rainbow of colors from her Power.

  Most people have one color when they use their Power. Mine is plum. It’s a deep reddish purple color- totally awesome. Mom’s is violet purple, more blue than mine, and pretty dark. David’s is green, like his eyes. When he uses his power, it’s almost like he is encased in a giant emerald, a shimmering, moving emerald. Some have Blue, some have yellows and pinks. Like Sharon, hers is a light pinkish orange, kinda peach colored.

  But Gabby is different. Hers is rainbow colored, it changes. Sometimes it is one color for a few seconds before switching to a different color and then a different color again after another few seconds. But sometimes it’s all the colors at the same time, flickering in and out like an actual rainbow. But she is different. She is the most Powerful- descended from all nine.

  I could feel her Power rise, as she focused on the task at hand. She tried to pull her emotions back, to release them from her love spell. I let my Power out just a little so that I could feel them to see how Gabby was affecting their emotions. And once again, she went too far. She pulled all the love from them entirely. They were loveless now, no longer even caring about their families, friends or even acquaintances.

  “Stop it, already,” I shouted at her. I even shoved her arms down a little, so that she would get the picture and stop.

  And once again I had to fix her problems.

  I danced to help me build enough Power to correct this mistake. I danced a dance of equality and stability. A dance that would make things right, set things to the way they should be. I unleashed my Power, felt it surge from my core down to my hands and toes like a pool of warm water rushing over my limbs and deep inside my veins.

  I could feel it spread, my plum aura spread out around me, lifting my hair and covering me in a glorious mist as it spread over to them. I tried to undo everything Gabby had done. I tried to take away the most recent onslaught of Power which caused them to have no love, and then pushed further, trying to erase the strongest feelings of love any person had ever felt.

  It was beyond strange.

  After things were settled, I looked down at her. She looked upset, but not upset enough.

  “Why can’t you just listen to me? You need to chill out with it and focus more. You can’t let all your Power flow when you use it. You have to use only a little at a time.” Exasperated with her and exhausted from the use of my Power, I was a little harsher than I should have been, and she turned around, tears spilling from her eyes as she ran out of the room.

  Chapter 4

  Gabby

  After dinner that night, I had yet another discussion with my mother and David. We sat together in my room after Gabby had gone to bed, and I listened to them scold me for my impatience.

  “You shouldn’t be so hard on her. You know she is trying,” David told me.

  “Well, not hard enough. If she is so awesome and has so much Power, then why can’t she control it better? She has lived here since she was born. She should be used to it by now.”

  “Because she has too much. She is only eight years old, Sam. She isn’t a master at using it. Imagine what you control when you feel the Power flowing through you, then amplify it by 100. That’s what she feels, and she is only eight years old!” My mom shouted at me. And she said I was impatient. I had to work super hard to not roll my eyes at her. That would only make her angrier.

  “Well, why don’t you help her then? I’m tired of being in charge of her. I’m tired of trying to help her. I have a life too, ya know?” I complained.

  She looked down. Then she took a deep breath, her chest rose as she pulled in the air and held it before she released it in a big whoosh.

  “Sam, we would he
lp more if we could. But you know we have to be out there trying to stop them,” David said with his deep voice, his eyes were blazing green right now. I knew he was angry and frustrated. I knew who “them” was, who he was talking about. Even though I knew and heard time and again what they did and planned to do, it was almost not real. Here in the Compound, everything and everyone was safe.

  “But what about us? Your kids…We need you too,” I persisted.

  “And we are doing everything we can to make things right for you. But you are almost an adult. You need to act like one. You need to understand there is more going on than just this little world that we have kept you hidden in.” She took another deep breath before continuing. “She looks up to you, Sam. You are her big sister. She needs you. You need to be there for her.”

  This time I sighed. I was trying to be there for her. But sometimes it just got overwhelming.

  ~~~

  The next day I didn’t have any training to do. It was Sunday and our one day off, so I went to hang with Amber, hoping to escape my responsibilities. But when I found her, she and Al were busy. Even though she didn’t admit it, I knew she had a crush on him, and secretly hoped they would get together. Their babies would be so pretty. Her dark skin, with his strong, German jaw. Their features, though different, complimented each other perfectly.

  So instead I walked out to the Garden. I liked to go there. It was like a little piece of Paradise right here outside the Compound. It was a small area, about 70 yards wide, with giant cliffs that ran up the sides. But everywhere you looked there were flowers. Especially now that Gabby had covered the sides in roses. The smell was so strong. We already had stronger senses than the powerless, but out there it was like you were part of the flower. Like you were swimming in perfume.

  I sat down, then decided I didn’t want to exert the effort to sit and fell to my back, spreading my limbs wide against the cool grass. It was perfect.

  “Hey,” She said as if she needed to get my attention, though I had felt her the moment she stepped outside. She would never be able to hide from any one with Power. We could sense her for miles away since she was so strong.

  I opened my eyes to look at her. This little girl with blond hair and green eyes was really pretty adorable. And I felt bad I was always so hard on her. I internally chastised myself for my selfish behavior lately.

  “Hey,” I told her back. Then patted the ground next to me, indicating she should join me.

  Her cheeks pushed in, as her lips curved up into a genuine smile. She sat down next to me before laying back right beside me. We just lay there for a minute, not saying anything, just watching the clouds glide by and the flowers sway in the tiny breeze.

  “I’m sorry about yesterday,” I told her. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

  She rolled over onto her side so she could look at me. Her eyes had grown two sizes larger as she showed her surprise at my statement.

  “Really?”

  I nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Well, I am trying. I promise. It’s just so much. I don’t know how you do it. I’ve seen all the other kids lose focus and mess up. But not you,” she said, confused and frustrated at herself. “You’re perfect,” she finally added, almost regretfully.

  I laughed. Perfect? Who was she kidding? Yeah I have a pretty good hold on my Power, but I mess up all the time, just in different ways.

  “I’m not perfect, Gab.”

  “I wish I was like you,” she said. It was almost a whisper, so soft and sweet. And I was reminded again at how young and innocent she is.

  “Well, I wish I was like you too. You are so happy. You try so hard to always do the right thing.”

  She smiled even bigger at that. But then she looked down at me. I could tell what she wanted, without her even needing to speak it. Her body language was always so blatantly obvious.

  So I opened my arms to her and she wiggled her way against my chest. I held her tight, hugging her so she could feel how much I really did love her, even when she annoyed the crap outta me.

  “I love you, Sammy,” she whispered. And I smiled, because it felt really good to hear.

  “I love you more, Gabby,” I promised her. And I promised myself I would try to chill out on her. Mom was right- as much as I hated to admit it. She did have more Power than any other human being anywhere. It was probably crazy hard to do what she did. And just imagine if she didn’t hold back at all. The entire mountain probably would have been covered in rose bushes by now.

  “I promise I’ll try harder. I’ll do better.” Her vow was to herself, just as much as to me.

  “Aww, Gabby. You are really doing good! I know it’s hard, but we gotta keep trying. I’ll help you. Together we can do this! I’ll be here to help you every step of the way,” I swore.

  She nodded her head, then curled back into my arms. We stayed there for who knows how long, just cuddling under the bright blue sky. And I made up my mind, I would help her. I would do everything I could to make this easier for her.

  Chapter 5

  Again? Ugh!

  That night I had the same dream again, but this time it was a little different. After crawling into bed, I started falling again. I fell into the darkness that covered me like a tsunami, smothering me in nothingness. Everything was black and senseless. No sight, smell, or touch. Nothing at all.

  Until I was outside again. This time there were a lot of trees, not just one, and there was no gravel road. Beneath me I could feel the dirt ground under my butt, and the grass tickled my hands that sat beside me. It looked like I was in the middle of a forest. The trees above me were so thick I couldn’t even see the sky, but I knew it was night. There was hardly any light at all.

  The air was thick, almost sticky, like it had been raining, or would soon. The breeze, though small, was cool and a little chilly.

  I had this strange crawling along my skin, prickly and insistent. It was instinct, like I knew something bad was about to happen. I stopped crying, though I hadn’t realized I had been crying at all until I forced myself to stop. I wiped the tears from my face, smearing filth along my cheeks from the dirt on my hands.

  I stood up and turned in a wide circle, keeping my alerts up high. I checked for my shield, my internal shield that kept us hidden from the Rising when we weren’t within the safety of The Compound. It was firmly in place, but now I wanted to extract my physical shield. Something that I knew could and would keep me safe from any attackers.

  I focused on the energy boiling inside my core, and started to unleash it. I could feel its warmth spread down each of my limbs, readying itself for release.

  But then I was pushed over. Something hard hit me in my head, and I fell forward, my hands barely getting in front of me in time to catch the brunt of my fall. I looked up, and it was him. The same guy from my last dream. He kicked me in the stomach, which rolled me over to my back, and crawled on top of me, straddling my hips. He was so much bigger than me, I felt so small and insignificant beneath his giant body. And all I could think was, not again!

  His stink rose up around me, that foul odor of Rising members that was so distinct and disgusting. I gagged and he leaned closer to whisper at me, his stench invading my nose and mouth, flooding down to my lungs.

  “Oh little pet, you smell so good,” he growled so close to my ear I felt he might’ve crawled into my head without me noticing. His eyes were nearly black, and so wide with excitement and anticipation. His greasy, black hair hung around his face like little strings of death.

  “Get the hell off me!” I screamed at him, as I flung around trying to get him off. I wiggled and bucked and he hit me. Hard.

  My face was on fire, blazing where he had hit me. This hit was even harder than in my last dream. My eyes watered and I saw little spots clouding my vision. I wanted to chant to myself, only a dream, only a dream, but then he growled and I couldn’t think.

  “I’m going to do a many great things to you,” he snarled at me.

  I tr
ied to focus, tried to think of all my training and what to do in a situation like this. I searched for my Power. I dug deep down inside me to find it. But I was confused and disoriented. I was cold all over and couldn’t find the familiar warm spot that I knew to be my Power.

  He reached his hand up my shirt, pushing it aside as he went. He grabbed it rough with both hands and ripped it open wide. I screamed again, but to no avail. No one was near us, no one could hear me.

  I was alone, helpless and…there was nothing I could do about it.

  And then I instantly woke up. I was back in my bed, back at The Compound. Safe.

  Sweat dripped from my face and covered my arms and hands. The covers were tangled around my feet, so I kicked them off before I climbed out of bed and stood up. I went to the bathroom, trying to hold it together, and splashed water on my face. It felt good, the cool, crispness covered my face and dripped down the edge of my nose. Fresh. Clean. Safe.

  Safe.

  And then I reached over to the toilet, just in time, before my dinner came spewing up and out of my mouth for the first time in my life. I fell down, my knees hit the floor with a loud crunch. My body shuddered. My skin was crawling with goosebumps. I coughed and choked as the bile came up and out. The smell was revolting and reminded me of the Rising Member in my dream. And I gagged harder.

  “Are you ok, Sweetie?” I heard my mom ask just after she knocked on the door. I heard her turn the door knob, but thankfully I had locked it.

  “I…” I tried to say that I was fine, but my throat was cracking and parched. I leaned back against the bathtub that was right next to the toilet. I pulled my knees up to my chest and rested my head on the tops of my knees.

  “Samantha. What’s going on?” I could hear the concern in her voice.

  I cleared my throat. “I’m fine,” I croaked out.