Free Awakening by J. E. Swift Page A

healing. They are a doctor in every sense. I can teach you to heal a cut or a bruise, but anything larger than that, you would want to consult a Healer.”
    “What if I have that ability?”
    “A healer goes through more training than anyone else. The Trust has its own hospital, and someone that chooses Healing as a profession goes through a lot of biology and human anatomy courses with specialists. The main healers have gone to Medical School and have their doctorates.”
    Caitlyn listened to Garrett’s various explanations; completely absorbed by the fact that humans can do all of this. He then took her on a tour of the facility; at least, the parts that she was allowed to enter. There were conference rooms, other training and testing rooms, two libraries, media centers, and even a gym with a pool on one floor. Caitlyn was amazed at how all of this could be at one facility without the knowledge of the town while it was being built. Garrett had advised her that the lower half of the building was completely off the grid. It was not in any way reliant on the town’s water or power supplies. If she was impressed before, she was surely blown away now.
    As they returned to the training room mid-afternoon, she was lost in her own thoughts mulling over the possibilities. What if they were wrong about her? What if she did not have any special abilities? What if she was a disappointment to Garrett? It was with that last thought when Garrett’s voice again snapped her out of it.
    “Nonsense. You are not going to be able to disappointment me. Ready to start?”
    “Excuse me?”
    Garrett laughed, throwing the cork ball at her. “I said, are you ready to start? The only way to remove those doubts is to start training. We still have a couple of hours to kill. I bet within three weeks, I’ll have you levitating.”
    Caitlyn caught the ball, all the while blushing, embarrassed that she was so engrossed that she forgot that she sometimes inadvertently projected her thoughts. “When are you teaching me how to block my thoughts exactly?”
    “Once we get the basics of levitation down, I promise that we will move on to blocking. Don’t worry; it’s usually only when you are deep in thought that you project them. It’s not as if I can hear them all the time. So I am going to start by having you sit and close your eyes.”
    Caitlyn did as instructed, sitting in a chair. “Now what?”
    “Now, I am going to have you start by touching the ball, feeling its composition. It’s often easier for new Actuals to grasp the concept of levitating by touching the object in their hand to start. Feel the ball, the texture, the weight. Now today we are just going to concentrate on teaching you how to relax, how to focus for levitating. You have to open your mind to thinking differently, to thinking like an Actual. Breathe slowly; try to clear your mind of anything. Imagine you are the ball.”
    Caitlyn tried not to let her performance anxiety get to her. She held the ball in her hands; it was incredibly light, the ball overall smooth, with small imperfections on the surface. In her mind, she imagined herself as the ball, cradled in warm hands. She looked out at the walls from the balls perspective.
    She listened as Garrett advised her to visualize lifting the orb till it was up to her head. Caitlyn concentrated, her mind picturing elevating the ball. Something did not feel right when she did so. She could tell she was not levitating the item. She took another deep breath, trying again and again. It was still wrong. There was an invisible barrier in her mind, a thin film that she could not quite penetrate. She let off a small groan in frustration.
    “Open your eyes, Caitlyn. You need to refocus.”
    Her eyes squinted slightly at the man who was now towering above her. “It’s wrong.”
    Garrett grabbed her hand and lifted her to a standing position, his head cocked ever so slightly. “What’s wrong?”
    She tossed the small sphere back and