Emotionally Charged

by Selina Fenech

  I had a shower, filled my stomach and grouchily put my old clothes back on dirty. Then I went to find the garage.

  I never found it. Instead I stumbled across the prestige car show room. When Jamie said to take a car, I didn’t realize what sort of selection he meant. They had six cars between them, each of which probably cost as much as six ordinary cars, or, you know, a house. I barely recognized the badges, except ones like Maserati that I only knew from TV shows.

  I buzzed Sophie in the kitchen again and told her I’d be going for a walk. I didn’t have a driver’s license yet - thanks again to my family’s no-car policy - and even if I did, the stress of even scratching up one of these cars could turn me prematurely gray. But I did want to get out of this place. The big building left me at a loss without the others around, and I was never very keen on watching TV. Everyone was so blank, unnatural, disturbing. I could see changes in their faces, but didn’t understand their emotions.

  I figured I’d head into town and kill time at a cinema. While TV left me cold, I always loved going to the movies. I guess I understood why now. My Empath abilities couldn’t pick things up across a screen, but they could pick up the vibe of a room of people sitting in the dark, all feeling the same thing.

  Sophie asked if I’d be needing dinner. I still had twenty bucks cash on me, so I said I’d find something while I was out. I hoped I’d also find a pay phone. She gave me the visitor’s security code for the keypad entry to get back in and I headed off.

  The mansion was on a hill up a main road from the town, so the walk in was easy. The movie theatre was close to empty which cut down my enjoyment. By dark I found myself wandering aimlessly through the unfamiliar town, trying to get my thoughts in order.

  Unable to check the time, I questioned how long I’d been wandering. All shops were closed and barely anyone was on the streets. I’d passed some other mansion-like estates on my walk down the hill, but down in town the vibe wasn’t even as rich as my home town with the posh little shops like Mom’s.

  Mom.

  I swallowed hard. Mom and Dad must be freaking out by now. I hadn’t found a pay phone that still worked, and dreaded making the call if I did. I had no idea what I’d tell them.

  I tried not to beat myself up so much. I’d just had some life changing events take place. I was fine, and I’d let them know it as soon as I could. I wondered what they would think if I never went back home. I was going to be leaving to go to college in a year anyway. But not if I didn’t finish high school. Did I need to now? I had no idea what was ahead of me, but it wasn’t as though college had an Empath 101 course I could take. I had to stick with Jake and the team. Somehow, I trusted Jake. One way or another, he’d look after me.

  Busy trying to justify my actions, a sound caught my attention. A range of noises that reminded me all too clearly of my confrontation with the looters - taunting, laughing, the sounds of anger and hard objects thudding against flesh. It came from a side street up ahead.

  If someone was in trouble, maybe I could do something. I could use my powers, now I knew what they did. I wasn’t the old me anymore. I was superhero princess me.

  I approached carefully, going over the pro’s and con’s in my head. No chance to call the cops this time. My flat phone had been left back in my room. If I did this, I’d have to do it carefully. I’d have to be clever. We haven’t gone over secret identities yet and I didn’t see the other guys wearing costumes, but I assumed it was best not to flaunt my powers. I also didn’t really want to tear someone’s hand off.

  I peaked around the corner and saw two guys beating on a third. They had him pressed to a wall, taking turns slugging him in the stomach. They called him names - homo, trailer trash - it was like high school but with more violence. The guy they beat didn’t struggle and I was worried they’d already gone too far. I tried to tap their emotions, get some strength, speed, something I could use.

  A cold emptiness crept over me instead. Maybe I wasn’t close enough? Damn it, how did this work? Their victim didn’t look well. I had to do something fast.

  Stepping into the alley, I took a position that shadowed me from the street lights and yelled. “Police. Stop what you’re doing.”

  All three jumped at my voice, and the emptiness cleared. A wave of anger, excitement and fear flowed off the attackers and I felt power build in me. Oh yes, I could do this.

  The two holding the third guy down blocked most of my view to him, but they all seemed about my age. The pair of bullies wore beanies, one blue, one red, probably sports teams but what would I know. They muttered between themselves then called out. “You’re no cop. Just get gone. You see nothing here.”

  I flexed an arm, feeling the strength in it. Part of me wanted to use it, but I tried to stay smart. The power was my safety net only. “Come on guys, just leave him alone. I’m not going anywhere, and I don’t think you want a witness here.”

  The beanie twins did that chin lift thing guys do when communicating without words. One kept a hold of their prey and the other stalked toward me. I took a step back out onto the main street to see if there was anyone else around, but it was empty. So I stepped back in and me and blue-beanie-boy squared off. Up close I could see he twitched and swayed slightly. He had a badly trimmed goatee and stunk of alcohol and bad teeth.

  “She’s just some skinny chick!” he called back to his mate. He laughed and turned away, telling me to go. He talked fast and every second word he spat was a swear word. I hated people that talked like that. No class.

  He headed back to his friend and I followed at his heels.

  “I’m not going to let you keep beating that guy.”

  “Don’t.” The grunt of opposition came from the guy against the wall. He slouched, as though he’d fall if red-beanie-boy’s hand on his shoulder didn’t pin him to the wall. Stringy hair fell over his face. His effort to talk earned him another fist in the stomach.

  “See, no one wants you around.” Blue-beanie-boy spun back at me and thrust out an arm to push me away. I sidestepped easily and he lost balance, diving forward after his arm and landing hard on the pavement.

  As he hit the ground I felt the force of his anger burst around him, accompanied by his loud swearing. I made an effort to absorb it all, like soaking in sunshine through my skin. I felt my body respond, every cell worked at perfect efficiency.

  He pushed himself back off the ground and dusted himself off. “That’s it, bitch!”

  He came at me swinging.

  I maneuvered around a street sign and his fist cracked on the metal instead. More swearing. I had no problem keeping away from him, drunk and uncoordinated as he was, but I was only making him angrier. I wanted them to back off and leave without me having to hurt anyone. Brilliantly, all I’d done was prove for a second time that one girl on her own isn’t enough to intimidate angry guys.

  After another bout of swearing, his friend let his victim go and came to join in. He didn’t stumble around like drunken blue-beanie. Backed into a wall, I lifted my fists to start fighting back.

  Down the street, a siren wailed. Perfect timing.

  “Oh yeah, and I called the cops before I spoke up. You ready to piss off yet?” I think their language had rubbed off on me.

  Their emotions changed to fear, and they finally took my advice. They bolted down the alley and off into the night.

  I took a few deep breaths and the siren passed by, revealing the red of a fire truck by the mouth of the alley way.

  I just saved some one. All on my own. I grinned stupidly.

  The guy they’d left beaten had slumped down against the wall, his knees against his chest. He seemed to be catching his breath as well.

  Taking inspiration from Jake’s behavior when he saved me, I strolled over to play the gallant hero.

  I held out my hand to help the guy up, giving him my best smile. “Are you ok?”

  He ignored me and pushed himself up to his feet against the wall. A breath hissed out through his clench
ed teeth. “What were you doing? You should have left, you could have gotten hurt.”

  I froze with my hand still outstretched and my smile slipped. Not exactly the gratitude I was hoping for. “I was just trying to help.”

  He turned and faced me fully. Average build, baggy clothing, dusty brown hair, pasty skin- nothing special at all. But his eyes transfixed me. Gray like wet concrete, they held me like a trap and the coldness I felt before crept back in.

  “I didn’t need your help. This happens all the time.”

  “What if they went too far this time? It didn’t look like a playful rumble to me,” I bit back.

  He just shrugged like he didn’t even care. He winced at each small movement of his torso, even talking, but I couldn’t read a single emotion on him. It irritated me more than his lack of gratitude.

  “You would have been messed up if you weren’t lucky like you were.”

  “I wasn’t lucky, I was… clever, and I saved you!” I found myself yelling. I couldn’t read him at all. Why wasn’t he happy? Why couldn’t he just say thank you?

  Blood dripped from his nose onto his light gray t-shirt. He zipped his jacket up over it and pulled the hood over his head. “Whatever.”

  He walked away.

  All energy drained from me. I spent my last cash to get a taxi back up to the mansion. I found it empty. Confused and alone, I crawled into bed.

  I couldn’t sleep. Gray eyes kept haunting me. Stupid, unappreciative eyes.

  Part Two

  Angel Masks

  Jake and the team returned mid-morning. Seeing him again knocked my dull mood away. It also felt better having clean clothes. Ms. Penny had washed and dried what I’d been wearing while I had breakfast in bed in a robe and slippers. Pretty people and decadence took the edge off real quick.

  We all sat in a lounge room. I wasn’t sure which one or what its exact designation was. The white leather lounges were immaculate and the rug so dense and fluffy I almost wanted to sit on it more than the lounge. The guys relaxed from whatever their secret overnight mission had been.

  I had to deal with contacting my parents. I felt lame bringing it up to the group and I doubted my parents would be very happy either. I mustered up the will to speak. Jake smiled at me and I almost lost it. Concentrating on something other than his perfect features proved hard.

  “Is there a way I can get my phone charged? I want to call my parents.”

  Jake sat next to me with his feet up on the glass coffee table and head back. He straightened up to look at the flat phone I exhibited in my hand.

  “Don’t worry about it. We’ll get you a new phone. Ems, you taking our new girl out shopping today?”

  Emma had draped herself full length down the opposite couch, leaving Donnie and Jamie in designer shaped armchairs, which looked more fancy than comfortable. At least for guys of their size.

  Emma moaned and pouted, lifting her head with exaggerated effort. “Yeah, sure. I could probably stay awake for shopping.”

  “I still need to call my parents. Ms. Penny said the landline isn’t connected here, so maybe, could I borrow someone’s phone, to let them know where I am?”

  The longer this waited, the more the knot in my stomach tightened. What could my parents be thinking of me? They probably thought I was buried under a collapsed building somewhere.

  Jake shuffled across the lounge and put his arm around my shoulders.

  The knot vanished. A warm glow replaced it and I tried not to purr.

  “You’re worried about your folks, about them worrying about you? I forget sometimes, since me and Jamie have been on our own for so long. Do you want me to take you home?”

  He sounded so disappointed. Yesterday I might have said yes, but not now they were all back here with me. I didn’t want to be anywhere else. “Oh, no, I can just call them. I’m sure they’ll be angry, but I need-”

  Jake gave my shoulders a squeeze. “Do you want me to sort it out for you? Look, I’m great with parents, and it’s always better to deal with things face to face, right? I’ve got to head back to your town tomorrow anyway, so I’ll stop by and smooth things over. Save you from bearing the parental brunt. Let me do this for you.”

  I exhaled over wobbly lips. It was so nice to have someone take care of things for me. I smiled and gave my okay. My parents could wait another day if it meant getting an in person explanation instead of dodgy phone call, and I just knew Jake could make them understand. He made everything better just by being there. I started to offer to go with him, to see my parents and to spend time alone with Jake, but Donnie interrupted in his deep, dry voice.

  “Livvy, we want you right here this week so at first sign of an event nearby we can take you with us. It’s time to get to know you better and see how your powers manage.”

  Emma sat up with far more energy than she’d shown before. “Then you can be part of the team for real!”

  I glowed, and wondered if it was visible to them all.

  Emma did take me shopping that afternoon, but we didn’t get a new phone. We mostly got new clothes for Emma. She held nothing back, snapping up every designer item that took her fancy, paying cash for everything. She tried to encourage me to do the same, but I only managed to humbly request a new pair of jeans, two tops, some PJs and underwear sets. At least I had some clothes to change into now. Soon I’d feel more comfortable taking what I wanted like Emma did. Soon, I’d be part of the team for real.

  ***

  During the week each of the team members ducked out individually for this or that. They weren’t much for explaining what they were doing or where they were going. Maybe they had day jobs? I somehow doubted it, unless it was just cover for secret identities. No way did they need the money. No one did any Empath power training, which disappointed me. They didn’t even seem as interested in it as I did. The only training done was daily body sculpting work-outs. I joined in and they encouraged me even though I was pathetic.

  Jake returned with a new phone for me, already programmed with the team’s numbers, and a report on my parents.

  “They were worried, of course, but my top notch empathy skills had them feeling better in no time. Here, check this out.” Jake pulled out his phone and showed me a ten second video of him sitting on my couch with my parents, all three smiling and waving. “I told them we’re friends from school, that we picked you up and let you stay at ours instead of the shelter. Made a few other excuses about flat phones, extra volunteer work together, yadda yadda, and they’re happy to let you stay with us as long as you like.”

  I wondered if forever was included and ignored the slight sting at how easily my parents had accepted my absence. I would make up for that with the presence of Jake.

  I thanked Jake for the new phone, and tried it out by taking a photo of us together. I spent most of my free hours for the rest of the week staring at that photo.

  On Sunday night, Donnie and Jamie called in from the industrial district across the city. A warehouse had gone up in flames, and it looked like a good first event to take me along to.

  It was time for me to prove myself. I admit, a burning building intimidated me. I’d never witnessed a real fire before. What was I expected to do?

  Jake drove the Maserati there faster than I thought was safe. Emma took the front seat and I squeezed into the pocket sized back with Emma’s reasoning that I had the shortest legs. Maybe Jake sensed my anxiety, and explained the situation more as we stopped down the road from the pillar of black smoke that marked the fire.

  “Don’t stress. There’s no one in the buildings, the whole industrial park has been evacuated. Nothing but stock and structures at risk.” Ever the gentleman, he popped his front seat forward and helped pull me out of the back of the two-door sports car.

  I noticed Donnie’s trademark black jeep parked a little further down the street, and he and Jamie loaded something into the trunk. We wandered down to meet them.

  “So, what will I be doing?” I tried to sound
brave.

  Jake nodded to the other guys before coming back to my question. “Just watching. The fire fighters are working hard to get the fire under control before it spreads. There’s some serious adrenaline and emotion involved in that, so just feel out the situation and see what you can use.”

  We were still a building or two away and I could already feel warmth. I wondered if it was from the fire or the feelings of those fighting it. We ducked through a hole in a chain link fence to get close and observe from somewhere hidden so the officials wouldn’t send us away.

  “What would you guys normally be doing, if I weren’t learning?”

  “For a fire? Not really a lot we can do. If someone was inside I’d rush in for the save, but empathy powers don’t really make us more effective at putting out flames.” Jake smiled and winked. I wondered if I could rush into a burning building to save someone. Mouthing off at punks seemed altogether different. But I wanted to be someone who would do that.

  The two story warehouse glowed like a jack-o’-lantern. I stared in awe at such destructive, beautiful power. Flames painted the walls and the heat scorched and dried my unprotected skin even from this distance. The smell was off, like bad eggs and car burn outs. Fortunately, most of the smoke blew the other way.

  We watched the fire fighters doing their thing, calling orders back and forth, dragging hoses, working pumps on the truck. All knew their roles. They worked as a team. I smirked arrogantly. I’d be part of a team like that soon, but even better. Excess emotions flowed off the fire fighters and I made myself a magnet, letting power soak in through my pores.