Free New Sight by Jo Schneider

just learned that he didn’t have to go back to school for a month.
    “You’ve got to try this!” Brady said.
    Kamau still had a hold of her hand. He tugged her back as he flipped on the flashlight and shined it at Brady.
    Brady knelt on the ground, with both hands still pressed against the dirt. His whole body shook, but Lys hardly noticed. She only cared about his eyes. They were black. Not just the pupils or even the irises. His entire eyeball looked as if it was covered in black oil. The surface swirled, calling to Lys.
    Those eyes! That’s what she really wanted. The Need broke free of its prison, engulfing reason like an ocean wave. Whatever barrier the tonic had erected washed away in an instant. Lys felt herself lunge forward. If she had those eyes, she would be satisfied.
    “No!” Kamau wrapped his arms around her, pinning her hands to her sides.
    Lys struggled. She didn’t care about Kamau even though his face lay only inches away. She wanted Brady’s eyes, and she wanted them now.
    “Lys!” Kamau said. “Stop it! Control it.”
    The command went unheeded. Lys kicked and wriggled, trying to get free. “Let me go!” she yelled.
    “No.” He held her fast. “Get a hold of yourself.” The beam from the flashlight waved around, hitting trees, the ground, and finally Brady again.
    The Need pulsed inside of her, forcing her to fight Kamau’s vice grip, but she couldn’t break free. All Lys wanted was Brady’s eyes. If she could get them, the Need would go away. It would be satisfied. At least she thought it would be satisfied.
    Kamau grunted. “Brady, you need to listen to me. You need to control it. You need to harness the energy and control it. Move it where you want it. Don’t let it consume you.” There was a highly compelling quality to his instructions.
    Brady stood, tilted his head to the side and then walked to the nearest tree. He placed his hand on it. The trunk, thicker than Lys’s whole body, exploded into splinters. Kamau moved back as the tree wobbled and fell away from them.
    A shock wave ran through Lys. It felt like a line of people had dragged their feet across the carpet and then touched a screw. The electricity went through Kamau and into her. The wall went back up around the Need. She stopped struggling.
    Before the tree hit the ground, Brady picked up a rock the size of a softball. He crushed it in his hand like it was a potato chip, crumbs pouring out from between his fingers.
    “What’s wrong with him?” Lys asked. Was it the drug or something worse?
    “Do not let him touch you,” Kamau said, releasing her.
    Kamau tried talking to Brady again. “You can control it,” he urged. “It does not have to control you.”
    Seeing Brady, Lys knew he couldn’t be in control. Of course, in a second she might not be either.
    Lys saw a dark shadow moving toward them. “Someone’s coming,” she said.
    “Don’t get too close to him!” Mark’s voice shouted through the trees. Lys could see his outline running at them, darting between trees and bushes.
    Brady turned at the sound of the voice. “You don’t understand,” he said. “This is incredible. I had no idea how much . . .” Then he doubled over, going back to his knees. The ground crumpled in on itself where he landed. He tried to stand, but stumbled and fell again. This time the dirt exploded around him. Lys felt rock shards hit her face as she turned away.
    “Brady!” Mark commanded. “You have to control it! Do not go into it.” He ran past Lys and Kamau, heading straight for Brady.
    Lys didn’t understand. Control it? Go into it? Kamau had just said the same thing. Were they talking about the drug? What did Kamau know about it? What wasn’t he telling her?
    The ground around them started to shake, and small cracks appeared at their feet. Brady, still on his hands and knees, let out a primal scream—Lys had never heard anything like it. The sound lanced through her body like glass, shattering her link to