Free The Gifted by Aaron K. Redshaw Page B

let go. The weight stayed in the air. He then reached
out his hand and spun it around and it just floated there, spinning
wildly.”
    Abe walked back up front, “What Paul has done
here is not use some force to levitate the weight, but he has
changed the atoms themselves so that they are as light as air. Now
watch this!”
    Paul closed his eyes for concentration and
the floating weight turned colors from black to light brown with
streaks in it. It immediately crashed to the ground and a part of
it splintered off.
    Abe chuckled, “What did you change it to
now?”
    “Wood,” he said in a shaky high voice. “I
made it a light kind of wood, like balsa wood. I just imagined
it.”
    Everyone applauded like we were watching a
magician. Paul left the stage, glad to be out of the limelight. Abe
raised his hands again to calm the crowd. “Isn’t it amazing? So
many of us have such remarkable abilities. And just think of the
order we could bring when we conquer our enemies.”
    Everyone clapped enthusiastically. I looked
over to Mick and saw that he was clapping so hard his hands were
red. He looked completely into it. So did the others.
    Then I looked at Abe and I knew. He really
was like me, only more powerful, and evil.
***
    Later I had another session with Derek.
“Okay, let’s get on with our lesson. It’s tricky what you are about
to learn, but it can be very helpful. So far you worked on
focusing. That was a good start, but there is a lot more to learn
and especially practice. For instance, fear is also a great
motivator. Most people think of fear as a bad thing, but for our
purposes it can really be helpful. If you are afraid for your life,
for instance, you will use whatever is within your power to save
yourself. Now your power does not allow you to levitate off a
burning building or to be bulletproof, but if something came to
fight you, and you used your power out of a great fear, your power
would be much greater. For instance. . .”
    In through the open door walked a tiger. An
actual tiger! Its eyes reflecting hunger as it stared at me like a
piece of meat and growled. I almost peed my pants. The tiger
crouched down as if it was about to attack, but then before it even
left the ground, something changed about the animal. Its eyes grew
sleepy, it stood up straighter, and I heard it purr like a hundred
pound kitten as it walked over to me and rubbed against my leg.
    “That’s what I mean,” Derek was smiling. “I
knew you would be able to do it.”
    “Are you nuts?” I said. “He almost ate me for
lunch!”
    “No,” said Derek. “I didn’t think he would do
that or I wouldn’t have taken the risk.”
    “Whose risk?” I shouted. “He wanted to eat
me!”
    “But you stopped it using the fear and your
power,” said Derek. “You did very well.”
    For the rest of that morning Derek had me try
focusing my gift on the tiger, because even though it was not
attacking me, I never felt comfortable with him in the room. That
fear remained.
***
    At lunch it was just Han and I. “What
happened to the other two?” I asked.
    “I don’t know,” he said, just above a
whisper.
    “You don’t think Tracy talked Guido into
getting her into that training facility, do you?” I said.
    “I hope not,” said Han. “But possibly. I
think he likes her.”
    “Hmm, I think you’re right,” I said.
    There was an awkward pause for a couple of
minutes as I ate some vegetable stew with more rice. “So, learn
anything new lately?” I asked.
    “Yes,” he said.
    “Care to expand on that?” I said.
    He laughed, “That’s what my mother says when
she’s trying to get me to talk.”
    “Is your whole family this talkative?” I
asked.
    “My mother and two sisters never stop
talking. My dad and I have given up trying to compete. Not that
we’d want to anyway.”
    This was the most I had ever heard him
talk.
    “I miss them,” he said.
    “Yeah, I miss my family too,” I said. We
didn’t talk too much after