Kyla pressed her lips together and humped her shoulders as she sat in the chair between Allison and Arthur. “Thanks,” she said as Sandra set a plate in front of her.
“Allison, this is your niece Kyla,” Arthur said with a smile while he filled his spoon with mashed potatoes.
Kyla smiled at Allison and then lowered her head, closing her eyes. She said a silent prayer thanking God for the meal and asking him to bless her grandmother for making the meal. “Amen,” Kyla said aloud. When she raised her head, she was surprised to see all eyes trained on her. “Is there something wrong?” They all shook their heads and went back to eating.
Sandra cleared her throat, “Kyla, you should know that I’m concerned about you being here, but since you are, there are some rules that you are expected to follow. First, you can’t be in contact with anyone from your former life. That means no calls, emails, letters, social media, or any other forms of contact that can be traced back to this house. Second, we have survived without detection by keeping a low profile. We blend in with everyone else, we live boring, simple lives and you will do the same.” Kyla hadn’t started to eat yet. She gave Sandra her full attention. “We don’t use our abilities in public, ever. You will also be expected to earn your keep around the house by keeping your room clean, doing your own laundry. I do the cooking, but everyone else cleans up after dinner. There’s yard work to be done and the trash needs to be taken to the curb on Wednesday night for the Thursday pick up. Arthur will arrange to get some identification for you so that you can go to school. We’ll sell the truck and get you something else. It’s parked in the garage. For now, if you need to go anywhere, one of us will take you. Is that understood?”
Kyla understood that they were concerned about her being there and drawing attention to them. It made sense to have rules, but she needed them to understand a few things as well. “I can live with your rules, but you need to know that I don’t plan to stay with you for long. I know that’s what my mother wants, but I have plans of my own. I want…” She almost said you but thought better of it because it was evident that Sandra was tolerating her presence. “I want Arthur to teach me to use my abilities, in case I need to.” Kyla thought for a moment, then added, “There’s no need to enroll me in school. I finished early.” She was lying, but it wasn’t like they were going to call the school in Bolivar and ask. Also, I have a few sets of identification. My mother and father left some for me.” Kyla looked around the table, making eye contact with each of them. “Is there anything else?” When no one said anything, she added, “Then unless something else comes to mind for either of us, I think we understand each other.” She put her napkin in her lap and began to eat her dinner. Nobody said anything, but Allison gave her a friendly smile. Arthur was displaying a full grin while Sandra seemed stunned into silence.
When dinner was finished, Kyla gathered up their dishes and took them to the sink. Arthur joined her as Sandra and Allison left the room. The television was turned on in the living room. “You surprised me, kiddo.”
“What do you mean?”
“Sandra is very authoritarian if you know what I mean. Other than your mother, no one challenges her.”
“I wasn’t… I didn’t mean to… be disrespectful,” Kyla said, lowering her head.
“It wasn’t by any means. I just think for a minute there, you reminded Sandra of your mother. Elise always said what she wanted to. She got that from Sandra, and now we see that it is in the blood. I don’t want you to think that you have to leave. I’d like for you to stay.”
Kyla wanted to tell Arthur what she planned to do, but she got the feeling that he would be against her trying to rescue her mother. She would keep that a secret for now. “Let’s just take things a day at a time,” Kyla said with a smile. “Now, do you guys use the dishwasher, or should I fill the sink with some soapy water?”
“Why don’t we do them by hand tonight. That way we can get to know each other. You wash, and I’ll dry.”
“Deal,” Kyla said with a big smile as she turned the faucet on.
***
Neil stood in the observatory watching subject F1. She was still being restrained and sedated. They couldn’t take the chance of her using her abilities on them. They had done that once before, and it had taken him since that day to catch her. She was resourceful and smart, and Neil hated that she had been turned in by the ex-Marine. Neil had wanted to be the one to find her.
He didn’t like the way she looked. Her color was ashen, and she wasn’t eating. It was getting to the point where they would have to feed her intravenously. The other aliens were aware of her presence. Since they had brought her in, their behavior had changed. No one had alerted them to her capture, but somehow, they knew.
The others had been cooperative, offering little resistance to their testing and the tasks they had been ordered to complete. Now, some of them were defiant. None had provided any real problems, but it was just a matter of time before one of them did. Neil would have to remind them of what could happen to them if they forced his hand.
This one had always been different, and the fact that Neil was nearly one hundred years old but looked as if he were still in his twenties, was proof of that. Neil wondered if she would remember him if he allowed her to see his face. Neil had been a soldier assigned to guard the alien beings in the facility where they were being kept. He, like the others, was curious about these creatures. Why were they there? What did they want from us? Most were convinced that it was the beginning of an invasion. Some thought that this small group was here to assess our ability to defend ourselves.
On a routine transfer from their holding cell to the lab, another soldier became erratic and started shooting. Not at the extraterrestrials, but at the other soldiers. Neil had been there to oversee the transfer and was shot in the chest. Instead of fleeing immediately, the alien saved his life first.
The door behind him opened. “Sir, we may have a lead on the girl.”
Before Neil turned, F1 raised her head, looking in his direction. Almost as if she had heard the officer behind him. He knew that there was no way she could see or listen to them. From inside the room, the observatory looked like any other section of the wall. White padding covered the walls and ceiling. The floor was white tile. She continued looking in his direction, then laid her head down.
Neil exited the room before allowing the officer to elaborate. “What have you got,” he asked as they walked down the long hallway.
The young man matched his stride. “There was a power outage at a motel in Dallas. This outage affected an entire block.”
Neil stopped cold. “A power outage in Texas? What makes you think this is the girl?”
“This,” he said, handing Neil a piece of paper. “We checked all the resident’s identifications on file at the time, and she was registered to one of the rooms in the hotel. She has since checked out. Facial recognition proves that it’s her, sir.”
Neil looked over the image on the paper. “Good job. Get the team together. I want to be in the air in ten minutes.”
“Yes, sir,” the young man said as Neil turned away from him. Neil smiled slightly as he made his way back to his quarters to gather his things. She had disappeared and remained hidden since she lost his men in the woods behind her house. He had been surprised at the time that F1’s daughter hadn’t used her abilities on his men. She had simply outsmarted them. Maybe the girl didn’t have powers like the others. He wasn’t sure, but he planned to find out once she was in custody.
Chapter Eighteen
The hotel room had been cleaned, but they were able to get a reading from one of their machines. Looking at the readout on the screen, Neil breathed a sigh of relief. She had abilities, and now they had a sample of her energy signature. It would make it easier to find her if she used her powers again. They would have to be on the lookout for any kind of energy surges.
“I don’t get it,” his number two said. “Why did the girl use her powers here, but n
ot when we were in pursuit of her?”
According to her energy signature, she was more powerful than they expected. Neil had a theory about her behavior when they tried to capture her. They needed to find her quickly, or it may be nearly impossible to contain her. “Because she didn’t know about them,” Neil said, handing the machine over to one of his men. “We hadn’t been able to find them until now because they hadn’t been using their power. At least, not in any big ways that would attract attention.” Neil walked out the door, looking around the parking lot. “Did she have a vehicle?”
“Yes. An old Chevy truck. This is the plate number, and I got a copy of the security feed. She was headed towards the highway when she left.”
“Then she could be anywhere. Have Markus access the local traffic cams and see what he can find and have him run the plates. Just in case she has someone helping her.”
Neil had already spoken with the hotel clerk, who had rented the room to her. She had rented the room under the name Lily Harris, a fake name. The clerk said the girl paid with cash and had given him an incentive to overlook the requirement of having a credit card on file. Other than noting that she was hot, the young man didn’t have much to add. The girl had kept to herself and paid for her room daily in cash.
None of the current occupants could recall seeing her. Since they were hunting her down, his men were dressed as civilians. He issued an order to the others to check the restaurants and shops around the hotel. Maybe they would get lucky and find someone that had seen her recently.
***
The first few days of living under Arthur’s roof, Kyla felt like she was in prison. Sandra took a few days off to stay with her. Kyla chose to stay in her room. She sat with a notebook most of the time, writing down things that she wanted to ask Arthur about her powers and about where they had been kept when they first got to the planet. Kyla figured that would be an excellent place to start looking for her mother.
Arthur had promised that they would get started working on her abilities on Saturday.
She was looking forward to that. Arthur was going to take her out to the country where they would be less likely to be seen by anyone. Sandra wasn’t pleased with the idea of Arthur showing her anything. She felt that it would be easier for Kyla to remain hidden if she didn’t have any use of her power. Her mind quickly changed when Kyla let it slip that she was the cause of the power outage around the Motel Six.
They were watching T.V. when the reporter said that the cause of the outage still hadn’t been identified, but power had been restored. Kyla didn’t realize that she’d said anything aloud, but she had. “I think I caused that.”
Sandra glared at her, “What do you mean, you caused that?”
“I didn’t mean to,” Kyla said defensively. “I had just finished having a conversation with Mom in a dream, and she said something that freaked me out a bit. I was feeling anxious and angry. Sparks flew out of my fingertips. Then the lights and cable blinked a little, and then everything went dark.” She looked at Arthur. “That’s why I was sleeping in the driveway that morning. I packed my bag and left right after it happened.”
They both sat looking at her with their mouths open for a minute. From then on, Sandra agreed that Kyla needed to learn control. It wasn’t until she and Arthur were alone later that Kyla learned why Sandra had changed her mind. “I don’t get it,” Kyla said after Sandra had gone to bed.
“What?”
“Why is she suddenly on board with you teaching me?”
Arthur put the remote down and looked at his granddaughter. “Because you shouldn’t have been able to blackout an entire block, a room, yes, a house, maybe. That would be… expected from someone who had no knowledge of what they are capable of. That means…well, I’m not sure what that means, but either your power is very strong or maybe…the fact that you haven’t used them before means that you’ve stored them up over the years.”
“Can you do that, store up energy to use later?”
“Well, …yeah. Energy doesn’t dissipate if it isn’t used. It sits waiting for an outlet. In that case,” he said, pointing to the reporter in front of her motel. “When your emotions were at a high, it surged into the building. I mean, the block.”
“Is it dangerous? Can I hurt someone with it?”
“Yes. You could kill someone. Think of it like this, if you were trying to start someone’s heart and you used a little bit of your charge, no problem, right? But if you send a huge surge of energy into them, you could fry them from the inside.”
“How do you control it?”
“I can’t do what you did. I have telekinetic abilities, but I can’t produce electricity. There are levels to our command of energy control. Some of us have basic skills like communicating telepathically, manipulating small inanimate objects. Others have more advanced skills, like manipulating larger objects, controlling others.”
“What level are you?”
“I’m somewhat advanced. For example, if I’m touching a person, I can put them to sleep or make them believe that they see something that isn’t there.”
“What level was my mother?”
“Advanced, she could do all the things that I do and some that I can’t. I’m sure your next question is, what level are you?” Kyla didn’t answer. She waited for him to tell her. “The truth is, I don’t know. Based on what you’ve told me about the dreams and hearing, Elise, in your mind the night the men came to your house, I’m pretty sure that you can communicate telepathically.”
Kyla smiled, thrilled at the prospect. “Is there a test or something that you can give me?”
Arthur chuckled, “Uh… we will try some things to see what you’re capable of, but I’m a little tired, and I need to recharge my battery. Why don’t we both call it a night? Saturday, we’ll find a spot away from the city and work on it together.” He shut off the television, patting her on the shoulder before leaving the room.
Kyla smiled, “Goodnight, Grandpa,” she thought, hoping that he might hear her in his head.
Chapter Nineteen
Kyla stood in the middle of the overgrown field that her grandfather had found, trying to recreate the electrical surge that had created the blackout at the hotel. It wasn’t working. She stomped the ground. “What’s wrong with me? Why isn’t it working,” she said, looking at her hands?
Arthur moved closer to Kyla, putting his hands on her shoulders. “You’re trying too hard. Close your eyes,” he said, releasing her and stepping back from her. “Take deep breaths.” He watched her as she did as he said. “Focus on what you were thinking and feeling that day.” He took another step back when he saw a slight glow forming around her hands. “Good. Now open your eyes. Look at your hands.”
Kyla did as her grandfather said. She smiled brightly, seeing that her hands were glowing a bright blue color. She raised her hands to examine them closely.
“Careful,” Arthur said. “You don’t want to shock yourself.”
“This is so cool,” Kyla said, turning her hands over.
“How do you feel?” Arthur asked because producing an electrical current could drain Kyla’s energy, making her tired. At least that’s what he had been told years ago. Carro was the only other one of his species that he had ever known who could create a current.
“I feel fine,” Kyla said, looking at Arthur.
“Good. Now let’s see if you can turn it off at will.”
Kyla licked her lips. Instead of dimming, the light got brighter. Kyla could hear her heart beating faster as the light in her hands moved up her arms, glowing more brilliant as it progressed. “It’s not stopping. What do I do?”
Arthur could see that Kyla was becoming anxious as the glow reached her shoulders. “First, you have to calm down. Getting excited is only going to intensify it. Deep breaths,” he said, inhaling deeply to get her to do the same. “Good,” he said as she copied him. “Relax and think of something else, anything else. What’s your favorite color?”
&nb
sp; “Grey,” Kyla said, smiling at Arthur.
“Tell me why?” As she focused on him, Arthur noticed that the glow was moving back down her arms.
“Well, because it seems like the least liked the color of all. It doesn’t get the same attention as the others. I know that seems a little weird. Maybe I’m weird. I just think it is a cool color.”
By the time she stopped talking, the glow had faded from her hands. “You did it.” Kyla looked from her grandfather to her hands. Then back to Arthur, smiling. “You know, I’ve been wondering about something. You pray at every meal, is that something that your father taught you?”
“No.”
“Did he take you to church or teach you about religion?”
“No. Why?”
“Then, why do you pray? You said that during the attack at your house, you prayed that the man would find you. You also said that in the woods, you prayed that the man wouldn’t shoot you. Why do that if you aren’t religious?
Kyla humped her shoulders. “It’s just something I do when I’m anxious or scared, I guess. I’ve been doing it since I was a kid.” Kyla thought back over her childhood. She tried to remember the first time she prayed. In her mind, she could see her bedroom, but it was decorated differently. The bed was a twin bed. The one she had before her parents had given her the grown-up bed, as they called it. There were toys, dolls and stuff animals everywhere. She remembered standing in the middle of the room with her arms extended out from her body. It felt like the air was sucked from the room, and the furniture was moving, and her toys started floating. Kyla felt a sharp, piercing pain in her head, and then all she could see was a bright light, blinding her.
The wind began to blow, causing the limbs of the trees around them to sway. Arthur looked at Kyla whose aqua eyes started to glow. “Kyla,” he called out to her. She didn’t respond. The wind grew stronger. Arthur looked up at the sky which was growing darker. He knew that the changes in the conditions had to do with Kyla. He yelled her name, trying to bring her out of whatever trance she was in. “KYLA!” Kyla dropped to one knee with her hand extended in front of her. A ball of light form and streams of electricity sparked out in different directions. “KYLA!” There was no response, and then just as quickly as it started, it stopped.
Metamorphosis: Science Fiction Adventure: Book 1 Page 7
