by J. E. Swift
Declan took the words out of her mouth. “It’s like you can breathe up here, isn’t it? Like your life doesn’t have so many expectations placed on it.”
Her eyes slowly took in the beautiful canvas laid out in front of them. “Exactly.”
“Just me, the trees, and the mountain.”
She nudged him playfully. “Hey! Don’t forget about me.”
“Oh no, I could never forget about you.” He sipped his water, attempting to stifle the smile that was tugging at the corner of his mouth. He leaned back, lying down to stare at the clear blue sky. “It’s amazing, isn’t it?”
She copied him. “What is amazing?”
He motioned at the blue azure above. “Out there. There are all these stars, all these possibilities for life and other cultures out there and we have barely begun to scratch the surface of our own exploration. At night, I love to just stare at the stars and think about us coming across another planet, just like our own, with intelligent life forms on it, waiting to start a new age of peace. When I begin to feel full of myself, I look at the sky or the stars and realize just how insignificant I really am.”
Caitlyn continued to lie down, but her head was now turned to Declan while he continued to speak. He did not realize that she was staring at him at first; he kept talking, sharing his intimate thoughts and beliefs about the world.
She found that she loved hearing him talk. The relaxing timbre of his voice, the steady cadence; the way that she knew that he truly believed with every fiber of his being what he was saying. When he talked about making the world a better place, Caitlyn wanted to go out and help him make it a better one.
So she listened.
He finally turned his face to hers and her brown ones met his blue. He blushed, she guessed because he realized that he had monopolized the conversation. “I’m sorry.”
Her hand reached out to find his and she gave it a squeeze. “Don’t be. It was nice.”
Caitlyn could see his internal clock winding up again, the world creeping back into his thoughts, the concerns that plagued him every day coming to the forefront. Although Declan was obviously destined for greatness, her heart yearned for him to know some normalcy. He sat up, letting go of her hand.
She stilled his hand and jerked her head down a few thousand feet below. “Don’t. Leave it down there, Declan. Up here… up here we can breathe.” She said, repeating his earlier sentiment.
“It’s difficult not to let guilt creep in.”
“We will head down soon enough. But for now…Sometimes, even when everything seems overwhelming and daunting, sometimes you just need to take time out and appreciate life. You and I are very similar. I think it’s why we get along so well. We will push and push each other and ourselves to death if we let it. Sure, we may have strength and even power, but at the end of the day, can we say that we lived a full life if all we do is work? This is what life is about, Declan. This is what we are fighting for. Our humanity.”
Chapter 18
A few mornings later, Caitlyn awoke in her studio apartment to her cell phone vibrating. She saw that it was a text from Declan.
Can’t meet this a.m. for a run. Sleep in. If all goes as planned, I’ll meet you at ten in the training room.
She rolled over, her clock mocking her in all its electronic glory. Three forty five. She closed her eyes, wondering briefly why Declan was up at that ungodly hour, before passing back out into unconsciousness.
She did not have to wait long to find out. Declan greeted her in the training room at precisely ten in the morning. He wore a huge grin on his face. “Good morning.”
“Well, good morning to you too.”
Caitlyn began to shrug off her jacket. “Don’t remove your jacket.”
She put the fleece back over her shoulders, trying to figure out what he was up to. “Okay. What has you so happy today?”
He smiled broader. “I’ve decided that today is the day you are going to learn to teleport.”
Caitlyn’s eyes widened and she couldn’t help but squeal. “For real? You’re not teasing me, because if you are, that’s cruel.”
He shook his head, laughing. “No teasing. Promise. I just think that if you are going to accompany me to the arbitration, I would like you to know how to teleport first.”
Her mind was still stuck on the fact that she was finally going to learn teleportation and it took Caitlyn a few extra seconds to process what he said. “Wait. What?”
“I said-”
Caitlyn threw her arms around him in delight. “I heard what you said. You got them to agree to the arbitration?”
“About an hour before I texted you. I have been up all night since, setting up the arrangements.”
She hugged him tighter and she felt his arms wrap around her happily. “That is wonderful news. When is it?”
“In four days’ time. Just enough time to get you up to speed. That is, if you are willing to put in some very long hours over the next few days.”
“You’re serious.” She could not fathom why he would want her to join him.
“I think it would provide a lot of valuable insight to you in regards to Cine Tofa. There would be myself, a seasoned negotiator name Derrick Adair, and then you.”
“I would be honored, although I am not quite sure how much help I would be.”
“You will be acting mainly as an observer. It was one of my jobs before I became your mentor, and one of the agreements is that I would continue in my old capacities when they needed me to and my father only trusts me with the job. I don’t see why I can’t combine both.”
Even though it was only as an observer, Caitlyn couldn’t wait to finally get to go out and do something that actually meant something within the Trust. Her heart felt like it was going to burst.
Declan threw on his own light jacket. “So are you ready to try Teleportation?”
She could not believe that she was finally going to be taught the one thing she wanted to know how to do more than anything since she saw Declan accomplish it in his family’s garden. Caitlyn sat down at the table, her brain moving from elation to determination. “Okay. So what do I need to do?”
Declan casually sipped from his cup, before sitting down next to her. “You know all the meditation I have been putting you through?”
Caitlyn couldn’t forget. Practically every day for the past month, Declan had set aside at least an hour where they focused on meditation techniques. It was usually a mid-day break. Everything from Yoga, Chakra, Trataka, and Mantra meditations. When they began, Caitlyn could not help but scoff lightly at them; she had not taken Declan for the new age type and neither was she. She did have to admit after a while that she felt calmer; but she never achieved that Zen like status that Declan always strived for.
“The trick to Teleportation is to let everything go; you must balance your focus and contemplation. Caitlyn, you always have had amazing focus; you can focus on a task till you have mastered it; but at the same time, your mind goes a million miles a minute. You are always trying to figure out what the next move is, how to get there, how to get it done. Teleportation is very Zen like and it’s the balance that allows you to teleport. All this time, you have been thinking that I have not been teaching you how to teleport, when in actuality, I have been doing that this whole time.”
“Okay. So where do we begin?”
Declan stood up from his seat and walked to the middle of the room, where there was the large mat that they used for meditation on the ground. He motioned to her to sit down across from him. Caitlyn noted that this was much like the first time that Garrett had shown her Projectile Telepathy. Declan crossed his legs and she did the same.
Declan sat across from her, the look he gave her, Caitlyn could only describe as encouraging. She realized she suddenly felt nervous. What if she couldn’t do this? What if she did not possess the talent?
Declan, as if sensing her nerves, placed a hand on her forearm. “You will be fine. Even if you don’t do it th
e first time; I know you are capable of it. Caitlyn, you have never thought you could not do something; it is what makes you so talented. Don’t doubt yourself; not now. I have never been so proud of anyone in my life. Now, close your eyes, and just listen to the sound of my voice. Okay?”
“Alright.”
Caitlyn closed her eyes, letting the world disappear. The only thing that was present was the steady cadence of Declan’s voice. “Keep breathing. Caitlyn, I want you to picture the field that we found while hiking the other day. Can you do that?”
Caitlyn did not respond, but he paused for a moment, letting her remember the field. Caitlyn thought about the grass that was just beginning to brown slightly in the meadow, the gentle sway of the wind, the way that the trees on the outskirts shot up into the sky. She recalled the way there were several openings that led to obscure trails that were no longer maintained according to Declan.
“Good. Now, what I need you to do is forget about everything else but that field. Keep that memory in your thoughts.”
He gave her a moment to do so. “Now pick one spot on that field. Picture yourself there in that exact spot. I need you to imagine yourself traveling there. You need to let go, letting your body travel through time and space.”
Caitlyn felt a flutter within her. For a split second, she could have sworn she felt the familiar breeze of the wind against her back; the cool air hitting her cheek; but when she opened up her eyes, she was back in the white room, sitting cross legged just like before.
She couldn’t help but be disappointed with herself. She had thought for a brief moment she had done it and had done it on the first try. “Try and try again, huh?”
Declan grabbed her hands excitedly. “Caitlyn, that was amazing! For a split second, you disappeared completely! Try it again!”
Declan settled back into his spot and they tried again. And again. And again. For the next several hours, Caitlyn could not even get another flicker. The harder she pushed, the less she was able to accomplish. She walked out of the training feeling defeated. Declan placed an arm around her as they walked out of the building. “Caitlyn, I did not even come close to what you accomplished the first week, let alone the first day. You are too hard on yourself.”
Caitlyn wanted to believe that, she honestly did. But she felt like for the first time since she was here, she failed. She was quiet the entire ride back to his temporary house, unsure how to feel. And Declan, sharing such a similar background, knew what she was feeling.
They sat on his porch step, Caitlyn mindlessly stabbing her takeout. She pursed her lips, lost in her own thoughts until Declan reached out to her.
“It’s happened to all of us, you know. Something we thought would come naturally, something we thought when it came to it, we would just be exceptional. But what you don’t realize, is when you are able to finally to do it, the victory will be that much sweeter.”
He elbowed her lightly and she smiled for the first time in hours. He continued, “Besides, I was starting to feel inadequate. Don’t worry-” he said patting her knee with his hand, “Tomorrow is another day.”
Tomorrow came, and then the day after that. Caitlyn stood up in frustration, walking past Declan not even acknowledging him, to stare at the blank wall. Staring at the blank wall was better than nothing. Caitlyn rubbed at her eyes, trying to stave off the tears of frustration.
“I can’t do it!”
Declan sighed, a move that he had been doing consistently for the past several days. “Of course you can. You are your own worst block. If you think you can’t, you will never be able to. Look, you have already proved you have the capability, you just need to implement the techniques I have been teaching you.”
Caitlyn threw her arms in the air. “But I have been!”
Without even turning around, Caitlyn knew that Declan’s eyebrows were raised highly, making Caitlyn feel like the two year old she was acting like in that moment. “Caitlyn, for the past three days, I have been seeing you try harder than you have ever tried. Stop.”
“What?”
He turned her around, placing his large hands on her petite shoulders. Declan’s blue eyes bored into hers. “You heard what I said. Just stop. You can’t push teleportation. You can’t will yourself to do it. You just can’t. You are trying too hard.” His hand touched her shoulder. “Let go.”
Caitlyn closed her eyes at his words. Garrett had told her the same thing months ago, at her sister’s funeral. She had stood by her grave for hours, having a silent conversation with her sister, begging forgiveness. Begging her sister to forgive her, but more so herself. She stood in the rain for hours, with Garrett watching from a faraway tree as she let go of her guilt.
Now, Caitlyn realized, she needed to let go of her pride. She hadn’t failed at anything since she had been here. She realized with clarity that there were going to be some things that she was not going to be best at, some things that others could do that she could not. Garrett would always have Projection Telepathy over her; she did not have photographic memory required. Jonathan McPherson would most likely have his unique brand of telepathy over her as well. It was not out of the realm of possibility that she would not be able to teleport, especially when it was so rare.
She did not want to disappoint Declan, and she had been worried for days that was exactly what she was going to do. She needed to stop worrying that she was not going to be as great as Declan. Declan was not competition, he was her teacher and her friend. If she could not teleport, she could not teleport. Simple as that. For the first time in a week, she felt better. She drew a deep breath.
“Better?”
She nodded. “Better. Sorry about that.”
He shrugged. “No need to apologize. As I told you the other night, we have all been there. Now, if you are ready to continue, we can sit back down.”
Caitlyn did as she was instructed and walked over to the middle of the stark room again. “Ready.”
Instead of Declan taking his normal place in front of her, he began to walk around her. Caitlyn focused on his steady steps, listening to the rhythmic sounds of the footfalls, the soft swish of his cotton trousers rubbing together. She felt warmth spread throughout her body as she focused on each muscle as it loosened, reducing the tension that she had been desperately clinging to.
Declan began speaking to her, his words calm and gentle. “Take a deep breath. Now, let every thought slip away. Think of nothing but the sway of the wind, the feel of the grass beneath your feet…”
For the first time since her mother’s death, she let everything melt away. Her mother, her sister, her father, the Trust’s expectations, and Garrett all fell behind her. It was Caitlyn alone with Declan’s voice guiding her. She felt at peace as she continued to listen to his instructions, imagining the beautiful foliage around her. Her body and soul finally aligning as one.
It was then she felt the shift. Her body was weightless, floating, ascending. She was tunneling towards its destination, leaving the confines of the training room, where she suddenly felt like she had been imprisoned in for years. Her body and her mind were free. After what seemed like seemed like only a moment, but at the same time an eternity, her body was unfairly grounded. And then she felt it.
Her next breath was an intake of cool air. She opened her eyes slowly, only to squint as the sunlight hit her pupils. The field she had hiked no more than a week ago was alive around her. She heard it before she felt it, the uncontrollable laughter that peeled from deep within, crossing her lips with exuberance. Declan appeared only moments later.
His eyes could not hide the pride that was deep within and Caitlyn felt like she was about to burst from seeing that reaction come from him.
“You did it!” He shouted as he picked her up off the ground and spun her in a circle, his laughter joining her own. “I knew you could! I knew you would!”
She hugged him back eagerly. “I can’t believe it!” She looked around her, never leaving his embrace. “This is amazing. No-scr
atch that. This is beyond amazing! I just transported! What I felt… that was the most incredible feeling ever! What was that?”
He tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “It’s something that we transporters lovingly call the sweet spot. That moment in between is so liberating, so boundless, one cannot fully comprehend until you experience it. I am so proud of you, you know that?”
Declan let her go suddenly, letting his fist pump in the air. “Yes! Wait till Lionel and my dad hear about this! Isn’t this a rush? Isn’t it the most amazing thing ever?”
Her grin went ear to ear. She was on cloud nine. “I still can’t believe it.”
He grabbed her hand for a brief moment and squeezed it hard. “Again.”
They spent the remainder of the afternoon transporting to different areas on the Trust Compound and places Caitlyn had visited before. The longer the distance, the longer she was in the ‘in between’ as she called it. It was thrilling; it was beyond exhilarating.
The sun was low on the horizon when she grabbed his arm, her playfulness still not worn off. “Let’s play hide and go seek. I’ll hide, you seek.”
She closed her eyes and pictured herself by the old gazebo around the abandoned Trust facilities. She realized quickly that she had not let go of Declan’s arm. When she went to teleport, she felt him grounding her, preventing her from getting to her destination. Instead of letting go of his arm, she focused on Declan, imagining his body becoming one with hers, their bodies made up of the same molecules. Declan simply became an extension of herself. She then let go, and felt herself in the in-between before landing softly in the gazebo.
She instantly knew this was different. She could feel herself still holding on to Declan. He turned to her, his eyes wide, his voice in wonder. “How?”
“I… I don’t know. I felt you like you were an extension to me and I was able to.”
“Do it again.”
Caitlyn complied, this time landing both of them in their original spots. It was easier the second time around. She was not sure if that was because she knew what to expect, or Declan was more willing. “I can’t believe I can do this!”
