Mind Tricks

Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

I sat down on the rock across from the lake, crossing one leg over the other. I pushed my hand behind me and leaned into the rock, feeling the sun warm my skin. I had the urge to just lay out across the rock like a reptile and soak the rays of heat greedily into my body. I closed me eyes, only to see the red light the sun makes when piercing through my lids. This is my favorite time of day because everyone is out of school, the sun is sending golden waves across the sky and I can relax. The only issue is the sun has a really bad habit of getting into my eyes and pissing me off.

“So, tell me more about… whatever I am,” I said to Derek casually. 

He sighed, shuffling to sit on the damp and sandy bank, “Where do I even begin?”  

“What kind of powers are out there?” I asked curiously. “Besides the ones we have.” 

Finally I gave into my urge and sprawled across the rock, my head hanging down in Derek’s direction. I heard him chuckle quietly and I smile to myself, loving that sound. My arms flopped down onto the rock, feeling the wonderful heat radiating underneath me and overhead.  

“Well, there are Mind Readers, but we call ‘em Readers for short,” Derek began. “Tele is short for Telekinesis, a Talker is short for Telepathy, people who can Teleport are called Porters and those who can Dreamscape are called Dreamers. Those are the main powers we can have, but Readers and Dreamers are actually pretty rare.” 

“What’s Dreamscaping?” I asked him curiously.

I heard Derek shuffle around awkwardly, “Ummm… they can enter a persons dream and take control. They can take the person anywhere and do anything…”  

“Wow, that seems amazing,” I said dreamily, just now opening my eyes. “You could go anywhere…” I repeated. 

Derek smiled, but I could see the uneasiness behind his eyes. I raised an eyebrow, looking at him suspiciously. He looked away from my stare and lowered his gaze. I know he’s not telling me something, but what? 

“So what powers do you have?” I asked, trying to get him to look at me again. 

He sighed, rubbing his hand threw is hair and to the back of his neck, “Teleportation, Telepathy and I can… uh, Dreamscape.” 

My eyes widened and my mouth fell open. He could Dreamscape? He could enter anyones dreams and make them see whatever he wanted. How many dreams has he entered? I felt jealousy burn in the back of my mind, thinking about all of the girls that have drooled over him. Has he ever entered one of their dreams?

I had so many questions, but only one came out, “Wait, don’t people usually get only one or two? Doesn’t that mean your stronger than others as well?” 

“It’s normal for someone to get only one power, rarer for two and three is considered special,” Derek explained, his uneasiness fading away. 

I remembered one of the first things he told me about our powers. He said that I was chosen or something weird like that. What does he mean chosen? Who choose me? I couldn’t imagine something thinking I would be the perfect person to give amazing power to, but maybe they had some sort of reason… maybe they know something I don’t.

“How do we get our powers?” I asked Derek. 

“Well, we’re all chosen,” he said, making me nod for him to continue. “It’s only us, no one else in the family will carry the gift. No one has discovered where the powers come from, but they only develop in certain people, some powers stronger than others. I have a few different theories myself, but they can’t really be proven.”