by Ian Somers
‘What’s on the cards today?’ I asked, trying my best to keep up with the older man who was cutting through the long grass with great strides.
‘We need to fine-tune your gift. You require much more precision when you force energy from your body and you must also learn to calm your mind. After that we will introduce some violence into the exercises.’
I considered telling him about the combat training that Cathy and I had done the day before, but decided against it. He seemed to be in a foul mood and would probably blow a fuse if he knew his training regime had been meddled with.
‘Did you look at the text I gave you?’
‘Yeah, it was an incredible read.’
‘He was an incredible man, but alas he has been forgotten by history. If the world only knew what he achieved in life. It is their loss though, I only lament that most of the original manuscript was destroyed by the ravages of time.’
‘Has Marianne read about Ala-Qush?’
‘She studied all the works of military psychokinetics at the Golding Scientific vaults. She knows all the techniques and can produce them at will.’
‘I really hope we don’t ever have to fight her!’
Romand was about to say something, but held back his words and continued his march towards the barn.
‘What is it?’ I asked.
‘Nothing.’
‘Romand!’
‘It’s nothing that can’t wait for another day.’
I had learned so much in my time at the Atkinsons, but I knew Romand was still keeping a lot of information from me. There was something being hidden, something dark and very serious. I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to hear about it and I didn’t pester Romand any further.
‘You must learn how to manage your psychokinesis better,’ he told me when we reached the barn. ‘I have devised an exercise that will help you greatly in achieving higher control.’ He held out a pencil with a string attached to it and a blank sheet of paper then placed them on the table top. ‘You will write your name on this page in a legible manner.’
‘I’m not allowed to hold the pen, right?’
‘Right.’
I sat a few feet from a table and the pencil floated upward then the lead point fell against the page. It moved in a fluid motion for a few seconds, but what was on the page looked more like 4C53 than ROSS.
‘Try again, but hold the end of the string.’
‘What good will that do?’
‘It creates a physical connection with the pencil.’
‘But isn’t this about not having a physical connection?’
‘Yes, but it’s also about training. Using your gift and having a physical connection means you will have more control. When you’ve done it with the string, you can try without it again.’
‘This is confusing.’
‘Your mind is making something simple into something confusing. Think! What object have you been able to control the best?’
‘My skateboard.’
‘An object that you move with your mind, but also touch with your feet.’
‘Ah, now I get it.’
‘No. When you have written your name, legibly, you will have got it.’
It took five attempts to write my name in a way that anyone could read. First it looked like 4C55, then 4055, R055, R0S5 then finally ROSS.
Romand patted me on the shoulder and actually smiled for a change. ‘Excellent. I had expected that it would have taken most of the day for you to get it right.’
‘You underestimate me.’
‘Don’t get too cocky! Now try without holding the piece of string.’
It took me over an hour to get it right without a physical connection with the pencil. My signature wasn’t very neat, but I’d learned the lesson Romand was trying to teach me. The power was much more accurate when any type of physical connection was made.
We then tried a similar, but much more difficult exercise. I was to write my name on the wall of the barn with a spray can. This required much more concentration; I had to elevate the can but also had to have precise control over the button on the cap. I failed miserably until Romand tied a piece of string to the can. I held the other end and passed the test after ten attempts. I couldn’t do it without the string, no matter how many times I tried.
I was greatly disappointed, but Romand told me it was one of the most difficult tests he’d ever invented, and he couldn’t even complete it himself. I didn’t like failure though; I promised him that I would try every day until I got it right.
‘Let’s leave this one for today,’ he said. ‘We should move on to something new.’
‘Do you have anything in mind?’
‘Yes. Let’s try to kill one another.’
‘What?’
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO -
Combat
We both put on fencing masks, stood twenty feet from each other then Romand threw a pebble in the air and it froze, six feet from the ground, between us. It was perfectly round, about the size of a marble, and was rotating very slowly.
‘Couldn’t you’ve picked something a little more intimidating than a pebble?’
‘It’s as dangerous as a bullet when it’s travelling at the speed of sound.’
‘I take your point.’ I remembered the entry in Ala Qush’s text about small-projectile firing and how precarious it was. ‘How do we do this?’
‘The pebble is under my control,’ Romand announced. ‘I intend to hit you with it. You must deflect it, avoid it or steal it.’
‘Doubt we’ll ever see this in the Olympics.’
‘Focus! You can pick up very nasty injuries during this exercise.’
‘I’m ready.’
I was expecting the pebble to be shot directly at me; instead it flew straight though the open entrance of the barn and into the open air. I wouldn’t see the attack coming. I would need to use my precognitive skills if I was to avoid being hit.
There was a bang on the roof of the barn as the pebble broke through and it came towards me at incredible speed. I sensed it just in time and jumped from its path. The projectile clattered the ground and whizzed back outside again.
I straightened myself and saw Romand grinning confidently at me through the mesh of his mask. Meanwhile the pebble was flying around the outside of the barn again and was picking up speed. There was bang at the end of the barn and the pebble came straight at my face.
Just before the impact I managed to conjure up an outward wave, the defensive technique I’d read about, and the pebble bounced away and rattled around the floor. I tried to seize control of it, but Romand was too quick for me and sent it shooting out through the entrance once more.
I sensed danger from behind and rolled across the floor as the pebble burst through the corrugated metal of the barn and cracked off the ground. I watched it ricochet into the air and then focused my precog gift. I predicted its flight-path and reached out with my psychokinesis and took control of it.
I slowly stood and laughed at Romand who was looking very nervous as he caught sight of the pebble whizzing through the entrance and back out into the open air.
‘I hope you had your Weetabix this morning, Romand.’
‘Give it your best shot.’
‘I intend to!’
The pebble penetrated the roof and came shooting down at Romand who used a simple deflection manoeuvre to avoid being hit. The pebble clattered around the barn like a pinball for a few seconds then shot through some hay bales. It was headed for Romand, but he used the outward wave to protect himself. The pebble rolled across the floor then stopped dead in its tracks. Romand had taken control of it once more.
I focused my power on it and we both tried to gain sway over the pebble. It was wobbling and was spinning erratically through the air. It zigzagged around the barn as we both attempted to take total control over it but neither of us could outmatch the other. I’d never actually experienced something like this before. There were two psychokinetic forces trying to dom
inate the pebble and instead of feeling weaker, I felt stronger, as if some of Romand’s power was being transferred to me.
‘Both of our gifts are occupying the same space and time,’ Romand shouted to me. ‘Does it feel like your power has doubled?’
‘Yes. Feels like I have too much power and not enough control.’
‘Be wary of situations like this. The added power can make you complacent but be warned, this is when you are most vulnerable to your opponent.’
‘How?’
‘You have created a channel of energy between your body and the pebble. My power surrounds that pebble. I can force all my power along your path of energy and into your body. This will kill you.’
‘I’d rather you didn’t do that.’
‘Never do something like this in a real fight with one of the gifted. If they are knowledgeable about the gifts they will use your channel to take your life.’
‘Shall we continue or is it too dangerous?’ I shouted. We were still fighting for control of the pebble.
‘For the sake of the game, we can continue.’
I remembered that Romand had said he didn’t have the purest form of the gift, that he could never summon as much energy as I was able to. That meant I could defeat him. I realised that anger was the key to winning. If I made myself angry I’d be able to win.
I thought about all the bad things in my life: Reynolds, my mother dying, Marianne stealing my thunder at the press conference, Shaw’s manipulative ways, the gang who used to shout at me in Dullbrook.
I felt power radiating from the atmosphere around me. I sucked it in then directed it at the pebble. I held my hand out and the pebble flew into my grasp.
‘I think that would decide the game,’ I said. ‘Or do you want me to fire at you using all of my anger?’
‘I would rather you refrained from doing that,’ Romand panted and he pulled off his mask.
He was visibly shaken and his face was damp with perspiration. ‘I applaud your skills.’ He sat on one of the tables and sucked in heavy breaths. ‘You may have a chance of defending yourself from other gifted people after all.’
I took off my mask and threw the pebble through the entrance it landed harmlessly in the long grass. ‘Will it be enough?’ I asked.
‘No. We also must train in more realistic combat … although I am not looking forward to it after this exercise.’
‘I’ll go easy on you,’ I laughed, putting my hand on his shoulder. ‘You know, I’m starting to see why you’re so worried about the fifteen true gifts. They really are dangerous.’
‘You have no idea, Ross. You have no idea.’
Romand shadowed me for the next three days, but whenever he wasn’t around Cathy and I would spend time together. Most of the time we just talked about the movies and music we liked but some times we talked about our gifts. I told her how I discovered mine after my mother died and how I’d hidden it from everyone. Her story was very different; June knew Cathy had the gift of mind switching when she was only an infant, and had nurtured the gift throughout her childhood.
Cathy’s life story was amazing. She’d grown up surrounded by people with true gifts. Both her parents had gifts and had mastered them and taught her the best and easiest ways to develop her own. That in itself was incredible, but she told me her parents’ friends were all gifted and they often visited the farm. She’d seen so much. Precogs who could predict her every move. Electro-psychs who were able to draw visible electricity from the sky. Light tuners so powerful they could mimic a person’s likeness from the light in a room. Sirens who could make you fall asleep by singing a certain note. I really was only taking my first steps into a bigger world.
As we learned more about one another our bond seemed to strengthen. We were real opposites, but that meant we had so much to learn from each other, which made us want to be together more and more. She was beautiful too. I would never tire of watching her. Never get bored with the sound of her voice. Never be indifferent to the touch of her hand. Never get complacent with her kisses. Never would I want to be without her.
My new home was a paradise, albeit with one dark cloud above it: Romand’s training.
Each day there were new and increasingly difficult training exercises, but I mastered each technique. We did a lot of training, similar to the pebble duel, related to combat, but there were other, less exciting, tests I had to complete.
There were quite a few weight tests. I had to drag Romand’s car along the dirt road surrounding the farm, I also had to lift a three-ton tractor around Mr Barnes’ junkyard, there were also heavy rocks and I even had to lift Bebe and Pepe a couple of times. It was straightforward stuff but often left me worn out and irritable. They were nothing compared to the laborious training with multiple objects though.
Romand brought me to the forest where Cathy and I had done some combat training. He sat me at the base of a young tree then shook it as hard as he could and for as long as his arms had strength in them. I had to stop any falling leaves, and there were hundreds, from touching the ground. It took immense concentration and I usually had to rest after it.
The worst of the lot was the ‘fistful of dirt’ exercise. Romand scooped up a load of loose dirt with his hand then tossed it into the air. It was my task to bring the expanding cloud of dirt back together, into a ball, and to catch in one hand. It was mind-numbing and took me endless hours to get right, but Romand insisted it was necessary.
I’d been at the Atkinsons’ house for over three weeks and I’d really gotten used to the way of life, but I could never get used to being woken at the crack of dawn by Romand, shouting that I had to get ready, and training all day. I told him over and over that I needed a few days off, but he wouldn’t listen; he insisted that I had to be prepared for real combat, and that it could come at any time.
During my fourth week at the Atkinsons’ house, Romand woke me one morning and told me the day had come to do some proper combat training. We spent a few hours practising Ala-Qush’s defensive and offensive manoeuvres, and a few that Romand had invented himself then went back to the house for lunch and a short rest. When we finished our lunch, Romand asked Cathy and June to accompany us back outside. I thought we were headed for the barn, but he brought us to a section of the field that he’d mowed the previous evening.
‘Since you are stronger than me,’ Romand said, ‘Cathy and June will be on my side of this fight.’
‘That’s not fair!’
‘Yeah, Romand,’ Cathy shouted. ‘Give him a chance.’
‘Life is not fair!’ the tall Frenchman told us. ‘Do you think it would be fair and evenly-balanced if he was to be attacked by Golding’s assassins?’
‘It’s okay, Cathy,’ I said. ‘Romand is right.’ I looked around at the square patch of short grass and there were no objects to use. ‘So, how do we fight?’
‘Using only our gifts. Cathy and June will periodically throw stones at you to break your concentration.’
Neither of the Atkinsons looked happy about the game, but both agreed to do what was asked of them. They gathered some small stones from the field and stood on the sidelines, waiting for the duel to begin.
‘We will fight in rounds,’ Romand said as he positioned himself at the opposite end of the square to me. ‘To win a round, one must knock the opponent to the ground. The first to win five rounds will be the winner. Prepare yourself.’
I psyched myself up and my mentor stood calmly with his feet close together.
‘June, would you count to three,’ he said.
‘One… Two… Three!’
Romand spun on the spot and sent a powerful bolt of energy at me and I was sent into the air and crashed into the long grass outside the pitch. I sat up rubbing my chest and groaned loudly. ‘Jesus, that hurt!’
‘It was meant to. The first round goes to France!’
I took a moment to gather my thoughts before I took up my starting position again. June counted again and I sensed my opponent’s next mo
ve. I jumped to the left as Romand fired a bolt at me. I summoned energy and used the spear technique to send a precise burst of energy across the pitch. Romand dodged it and laughed.
I fired another spear bolt but missed. I then had to leap away from a wave of energy that slid under my feet. A stone struck me on the forehead as I was preparing a counter attack and I stumbled and fell.
‘England!’ Cathy shouted and her mother gave her a high five.
‘This isn’t fair,’ I muttered as I got to my feet. ‘I’m fighting the united nations here!’
‘Come on, Ross,’ Cathy shouted.
‘You cheer me on after you hit me in the mush with a bloody stone! I’ll never understand what goes on inside a woman’s head.’
‘Enough!’ Romand commanded. ‘Round three!’
I took the initiative and levitated into the air. This seemed to take everyone by surprise and they didn’t know quite what to do. Romand was dumbfounded for a moment and just stood there staring at me. I suddenly came back to the ground at great speed and fired a simple nudge at my opponent.
Romand ended up on his backside, rubbing his face.
‘Ireland fights back!’ I bragged. I winked at Cathy and she giggled. Her mother was not impressed with this and rolled up her sleeves and frowned at me.
The fourth round lasted quite a while; I was using my precognitive skills and was avoiding Romand’s attacks and the stones being hurled at me from the sidelines. Eventually I ran at Romand and created a disk of energy that sent him off his feet and onto his back.
‘Two a piece,’ I said proudly.
During the next round Romand showed his experience and when he was under pressure he used body refraction to cloak himself. Nothing happened for a moment and I used my precog skills to sense where the attack would come from.
June threw a stone at me and broke my concentration for a second, before I knew it I was sent up into the air by soft burst of energy and came hurtling down heavily.
Romand appeared out of thin air and was smiling down at me. ‘Vive la France!’
