The Telekinetic

Prologue

Zane Frost placed a hand on his furry friend who bombarded his fingers with its coarse tongue as its tail whipped the wind back and forth like a propeller. 

A smile surfaced on Zane's face. "You keep wagging your tail that hard it might fall off, Max!"

Max's wagging somehow increased in tempo at the mention of his name and he ran in a quick circle before focusing his lolling tongue on the back of Zane's hand once again. Zane chuckled, brandishing a stolen frisbee to Max's delight before chucking it into the air. 

He liked to imagine that he could control the disc's smooth movements in the air, tricking Max as he bolted after it and tried to predict its landing. 

The setting sun caught Zane's eye. It was now a good ways past his curfew.

To hell with them, he thought. No seventeen-year-old should have a curfew anyway. 

Even with his unfortunate circumstances.

He allowed his mind to wander as Max returned with the frisbee. Max was the only being he could really consider a friend at the moment. He wasn't allowed "back home" greatly which amplified the sense of entrapment that came with the large depressing building. This was why Zane would rather face the consequences of breaking curfew, rather than obediently going "home" with a counterfeit smile on his face.

Zane took the frisbee from Max's jaws, patting his canine buddy on the head as he basked in the unadulterated adoration that shone in Max's gaze, a feat that was impossible for a human in Zane's opinion.

He often wondered if he hated humanity and ultimately came to this conclusion; he didn't detest humans, but he didn't necessarily like them either. Humans had failed him time and time again and if he was being honest, he tended to fail them too.

"I act like I'm not human too, huh?" Zane asked Max as he wound up to throw the frisbee again. This time, egged on by unpleasant memories - he threw it with all his strength. The disc glided into the air, catching onto the wind, it floated much higher than it had before.

With a deep sigh, Zane watched the disc float high above any earthly problems. 

He whistled wistfully as he followed Max who bounded down the hill after the frisbee below him. He figured he might as well start the trek home. 

Max chased the descending frisbee into a road a few yards from the hill Zane carefully navigated down. The road was rarely traveled so Zane thought nothing of it until he heard the unmistakable sound of a car's engine.

The purr sounded like a sports car's engine and it sounded like the driver was pushing the car to its absolute limits on the deserted road. A cold numbness invaded Zane's body as he surveyed the scene, the sports car bending around the corner at an illegal speed, Max picking up the frisbee in the middle of the car's lane. 

It didn't matter if the driver saw Max with the speed the car was moving at, braking in time would be impossible even if those brakes were blessed by God himself.

Time seemed to slow as Zane reached out a hand, finally finding control of his body though his voice still failed to cooperate. Max's tail still wagged, unaware of the danger that bore down on him.

Zane was no stranger to loss, but dammit if he wasn't sick of being visited by the harrowing presence of death. He was never able to do anything to stop it and this time would be no different. His heart sped up like a jackhammer as he imagined the last person to truly care for him gone.

No.

Zane's forehead creased as a new emotion wiped the numbness away completely, filling his very being with scorching rage birthed from his immense frustration at the unfairness of life. He put every ounce of will into his outstretched hand and although in the moment, Zane thought he imagined it, his hand started to burn.

"NO!" The word held a deep resonating power behind it that surprised Zane, almost as much as the sound of a loud boom did a millisecond later.

Zane's eyes widened as a tear snuck down his face. The car seemed to have hit a barrier, only this barrier was invisible and held firm against the speeding car, making it a crumpled mess. Zane stared blankly, the numbness returning with the dissipation of his intense fury.

What just happened?

Max had cowered with the crash happening just two feet from him, but somehow no shrapnel had headed in his direction. Now, he broke from his crouch, frisbee still tight in his jaws and bounded back up to his friend. 

To his savior.

Though Zane didn't feel much like toasting. His eyes swept the peculiar wreckage, noticing how the front of the bright yellow sports car was now tainted with a vibrant red pattern that streaked all over the hood - or what was left of it. Zane's body started to shake uncontrollably and he fell to one knee, unable to maintain a standing posture. 

Dread infiltrated his stomach and twisted it into tight knots until he felt the threat of nausea and threw his head in his shaking hands.

What had he done?