Free Aurator, The by M.A. KROPF

mothers and fathers with older kids, that fear and worry never goes away. On several occasions I had tried to talk with my parents about this, thinking that they would understand exactly what I was feeling, but they both just shook their heads and said, “Things were different when you were a kid, hon. We just didn’t have to worry the way you do today.” I sighed at this… Max was right… sad.
    I then noticed that Max had come over and knelt in front of me. “You, my dear, represent the birth of hope for us. A chance we can actually have a bigger impact in our world.”
    “I don’t understand. I don’t want to be a killer. How can I be one of you?”
    “In time, in time.” He then got up from the floor and went back to his chair, suddenly looking very tired. “You have a red aura because you are already stronger than any of us. You are already emanating the power of purpose. Your skill, whatever that will be, will come after completing your first purpose. You’ve had this aura your whole life.”
    “Well, what if I don’t want to complete a purpose?” I asked.
    “You don’t have a choice.” He said this so matter-of-factly and without looking at me that I paused to question myself.
    “If that is true then why didn’t I kill the boy in high school?” His eyebrows furrowed and he leaned forward. He spoke so slowly and with such intensity that I felt my breath catch.
    “What… boy… from… high… school?”
    Taking a moment to compose myself I took a deep breath. I retold the story of high school including the dark aura around John, the subsequent dream, the pain, shuddering at the memory of the pain, and the deaths of my fellow classmates.
    Max appeared rattled and a little out of sorts. He began mumbling to himself, “That’s impossible… he can’t be… you would need incredible… that’s impossible.”
    Aaron was the first to speak coherently. “Max, is this some sort of innate self-control?”
    Max snapped out of his daze and looked at Aaron. “I don’t think so, but I don’t know.” Then turning to me, “Megan, whatever happened to the boy?”
    “I don’t know exactly. He went to a juvenile detention facility but whether he got out or died, I have no idea.”
    Max pondered this for a moment, looking back and forth through the room as if searching for something. “We have to find out if he’s still alive.” Then he glanced at me with a curious look on his face. “There will be much to learn from you. I can see already that you are not cut from the same cloth as the rest of us. I will also call the Seniors to consult with them. They have all the original documents, aside from Hippocrates’s journal, and these may hold answers.” Nodding his head, apparently to himself, he stood and walked over to his desk, sat down, and began scribbling notes onto a yellow legal pad.
    Aaron stood and approached Max, “What now? Do we search for the boy? If he is a designated purpose he could be creating chaos and will need to be removed.”
    Max stopped writing and fiddled with his pen for what seemed like several minutes. “You’re right, Aaron, he will need to be dealt with if he’s still alive.”
    “Wait a minute,” I interrupted, “are you both talking about killing my old schoolmate?”
    In unison, they quickly stated, “Yes.” Then they went back to talking to one another.
    Aaron first, “We will need to consult the Seniors. They may have some record or experience that will tell us what to do.”
    “Of course,” Max replied. “I will contact them I do have a lot of questions for them. And, if you don’t mind, try to research whether this boy…” turning toward me he continued, “what’s his name?”
    Slightly confused by the direction of the conversation, I replied, “John Steele.”
    Max clarified, “S… T… E… E… L… E?”
    “Yes.”
    He then looked back at Aaron, “John Steele. See what you can find out about him and we’ll go from there.”
    I was