Free Elevated (Book 1): Elevated by Daniel Solomon Kaplan

her down, although I have no idea what I will say when I catch up to her. In the end, I don’t have to worry, as she takes off in a flash and is out of sight.

CHAPTER SEVEN
    As I watch the other passengers on the city bus, I’m grateful it’s only late afternoon. They seem like types whose mode goes from creepy to mugger after dark. A fuzzy man next to me wears clothes caked in grime and growls like a bear at each stop. A woman with scraggly hair on the other side swats at spiders on her face that aren’t there.
    I hate the bus.
    Unfortunately, there isn’t a chance in a million my mom will give me a ride to the Home for Basics. Mr. Roberts would have a coronary if I even asked him. A dark thought makes me wonder if perhaps that would solve my problems with him.
    The bus creaks and moans the whole trip. I breathe a sigh of relief when it slumps into the final stop and I’m still alive. I need to suck it up and tell Aaron about my ability. He has a car.
    I unlock the door with my thumb and push my way through the stacks of grimy boxes to Jex’s desk. He is typing on the computer and doesn’t notice me until after a cheese puff crunches under my foot. “You’re late.”
    “Sorry, I took the bus.”
    He glances up at me. “Are you ever going to tell Aaron?”
    “Maybe.”
    “When?”
    “Not sure.”
    “You must like the bus.”
    “Tomorrow. I’ll tell him tomorrow.”
    Jex snorts. “So you’re here to learn about your power.”
    “Yes, so I can control it. And not use it.”
    “You don’t want to use it?”
    “No. I wish I didn’t have it to begin with.”
    Jex leans back in his chair. “Hate to tell you this, but as time goes on, you’re going to find it harder not to use it. It’s going to become part of you.”
    “Sounds like a disease.”
    “In a way, it is. Sure, there are some who overcome their abilities through meditation or religion, those who see the world for the crazy place it’s become. But most have to go with it. It’s like a drug. Once your power within is unleashed, it can’t be unlearned.”
    “But if I practice, then at least I’ll gain better control.”
    Jex smiles. “Possible. Now, shall we begin?”
    I nod and Jex turns me around and stands back to back with me. There’s a lurch behind my back as Jex moves his arm. All at once, I see it in my mind. His arm. Outstretched. Holding some sort of card.
    “What are you holding, Jex?” I ask.
    “Why don’t you tell me?”
    “It’s a card, I can tell that. The size of a postcard.”
    “Good, continue.”
    “You have a pen in your pocket. No wait, it’s more like a marker.”
    “Back to the card. What’s on it?”
    I concentrate on the outline of the card, but I can’t see anything more. It’s blank.
    “Is it blank?”
    “It is right now,” Jex says.
    He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the marker.
    “You’re writing on the card,” I say, scanning his shadow.
    “What did I write?”
    My mind focuses on the card. Still blank. “I can’t tell. I mean, should I? Scanners only have dimensional perception.”
    “Depends. Some Elevated can read simple characters. Some can see colors. It’s not consistent.”
    “I only see outlines. Shapes, density, that sort of thing.”
    “It’s still a powerful ability.”
    He steps towards a pile of junk behind some shelves. It obscures his outline as my brain fights to filter through the clutter surrounding it. Jex turns the corner and fades away behind a bookcase.
    “What am I doing now?”
    He’s gone. My scanning only shows the outline of cluttered shelves filled with magazines, wires, and empty cans of beer. I concentrate on the shelves and a moving form appears through gaps in the items. My head twists as it tracks the shifting shadow. Reflex, I’m sure, since my eyes can’t assist with my scanning. It’s nothing like seeing normally. It’s more like the way my brain pieces together a memory of somebody’s face.  It takes mental focus, but slowly the