Photo: Hunter
Myra and I followed Jason into the house. We caught the end of the commercial before their "Breaking News" segment starter.
A woman dressed in a pant suit showed up on the screen microphone in hand, standing in front of the bar.
"Earlier tonight surprising events took place at this bar here off of 8th street and Waterberry. A brawl broke out between patrons and few employees, leaving several in critical condition."
The screen flashed to a grumpy looking old man named Robert Smith. He was the owner.
"Tell us Mr. Smith: what happened tonight?"
"I'll tell ya what happened. I've got bodies on the floor that I don't know if they're dead or alive, vomit in the toilet and police raiding my property like they own the place. I hope they catch these motherfuckers that trashed my bar! I'm gonna-"
The screen turned black. They were a little late in censoring his words, but I'm sure he said a lot more. After a few moments the reporter returned.
"I apologize for the profanity. Mr. Smith is going through an emotional time and it's too soon for him to speak calmly about the matter. Fortunately we have an employee that would like to speak on Mr. Smith's behalf."
I instantly recognized Hunter's bright blue eyes. His brown, sun streaked hair ruffled a little bit in the wind and he opened his mouth to speak.
"I'm not exactly sure why things went down the way they did. One minute I was serving drinks at the bar and the next there was the guy the burst through the doors acting like he owned the place. I guess his daughter decided to head out without telling him because they'd had an argument. He looked ready to kill somebody and he was - the man brought a double barrel shot gun into a bar...you know where the customers are all usually intoxicated. He found her in the bathroom with the help of some of our good hearted patrons. Next thing I knew all he-- uh chaos broke loose," the disgust in his voice was thick and tangible, but that quickly changed when he softly said, "I hope she's okay."
"Thanks Hunter. Back to you Chris."
A male newscaster showed up on the screen siting behind a desk.
"Thanks Donna. Police have released the only security footage of the brawl that took place."
The screen became a black and white blur. I could make out bodies dropping left and right. A figure was moving across the screen, but if I hadn't known it was Myra or the she had a power I would have thought I was just some person knocking everybody's lights out. After a little while I watched a figure with light hair slide across the bar counter and Pa sauntered over with his rifle. As he rose it and aimed the camera shook violently and fell to the ground. Blackness filled the screen.
"We'll have more coverage as more information comes in. Until then here's your seven day weather forecast," Chris said.
Jason turned off the tv. He glanced at me before glaring at Myra.
"You know better," he said.
"I had to help her, otherwise she'd be dead right now, Jason. Don't start with your exposure bullshit. Daisy Lynn needed help and I was there for her. If you're gonna do this right now, I'm going to bed,"
"You aren't going anywhere. If those humans find out about us-"
"I know, I know, I know," she said impatiently.
I didn't know.
Jason's eyes flickered to me.
"You're not exactly human anymore, Daisy Lynn. Although Myra would love to hold onto her humanity, her humanity doesn't want to hold onto her."
I've got ten toes, eight fingers and two thumbs. If I wasn't humans then what the hell was I?
"Whatever, Jason. You two can talk about this but I'll be upstairs in my room," she paused for a moment, "Alone."
Jason shook his head before sitting down on the couch.
"I know you're tired too. You should go get some rest. Who knows what tomorrow will bring,"
I gave him a long look and then rubbed my eyes and yawned. I was tired, but I wanted to know what he meant about us not being human.
"It can wait, Daisy Lynn," he said quietly.
"I don't want it to wait," I said.
"Doesn't matter about what you want. All that matters is that you trust me and I trust you. You're gonna find what you want doesn't always come to fruition."
"Story of my life," I said thinking of all the years of abuse I've suffered through. That shut him up.
Jason got up from the couch and grabbed my hand. I really didn't feel like holding his or following him, but he didn't really give me a choice. He led me to my bedroom and closed the door as soon as I entered, leaving me alone in my new, dark, cold room. It was going to be a long night.
The next morning I awoke with a start. It took me a few moments to get my bearings and memories from last night flooded my mind. Groaning, I sat up and looked around.
The room was pretty simple. It had a full sized bed with baby blue sheets. There was a night stand to my right with a reading lamp. A window was to the left on the other side of the room and the close and dresser was across from the bed on the opposite side of the room.
I walked over to the dresser and found some toiletry items. It was enough for me to brush my teeth and take a shower. As I picked over the items, I wondered who put this stuff in here. All the clothes were the right size. Something told me it was the all-knowing Jason who was so thoughtful. Grabbing the items I stepped out of the room, to search for the bathroom so that I could get my day started.
The bathroom was just a few doors down and it was steamy - someone had already taken their shower. I hopped in intending on taking a quick one, but the water hitting my body felt to good. It was like getting an extra boost. I felt complete recharged and rejuvenated after my shower.
I stepped out and scrambled back to my room, with only my towel to cover the important parts. I wondered in the back of my mind if Jason could hear my thoughts from the shower. I shuddered at the thought and hoped that he didn't. After putting on some lotion, I got dressed and pulled my golden locks into a loose ponytail. My jeans and button-up plaid shirt were just my country girl style. I put on my worm down sneakers and headed downstairs to find some food.
When I got to the door of the kitchen I had to do a double take. Jason was standing with his shirtless muscled back to me with a pair of black basketball shorts. His bronze skin glistened from the sunlight hitting the droplets of water he'd missed when drying off. He turned around, pushing his jet black hair out of his face and his eyes met mine. I realized by the grin playing at his lips that he knew everything I was thinking and I felt my chest and face heat up.
"Here's some food," he said and tossed the plate.
I expected it to hit me in the face as I held out my hands to catch it, but right at the last second it slowed down and I grabbed the gravitating plate from the air.
"Thanks," I muttered.
For the heart attack, I thought to myself.
Jason simply chuckled and made his own plate before ushering us to the dining room table. He pulled out my chair and sat across from me. I felt like it was the calm before the storm. He was probably going to lecture me. All of yesterday's events replayed in my head before I recalled how angry he looked when he told Myra and me that our scuffle was on the news. I looked at Jason and he was eating his food. He either didn't hear my thoughts (unlikely) or he was choosing to ignore them and not give me any response. I shrugged it off and turned my attention to the plate before me.
Jason was quite a good cook. He'd scrambled am egg with spinach and cheese and sun dried tomatoes. I had 3 good sized pancakes that were light and fluffy. Two well cooked slices of bacon filled my nostrils with a pleasant aroma and I quickly dived in.
"Mmmm," I said as I stuffed my mouth with food. I never had a meal like this with Pa. We weren't necessarily financially endowed. Usually I cooked for the both of us, because Pa was always busy with the farm. The past three year had not been easy on us. There have been droughts and large corporations have been doing our family farm in. Although Pa put on a good business facade, people still knew he was drunk. They didn't know he was abusive, but he was obviously a drunk.
I pictured Pa in my mind. We looked a lot alike. Blonde hair and blue eyes. He was a lot more gruff looking though. He always looked like he needed a shave and unless he was having a business meeting his clothes were tattered and his breath smelled of liquor. Pa was well built from years of farm work, however his physique was slowly succumbing to his alcoholic ways. My heart broke as I remembered how lively he was when Mama was still alive. He drank then too, but it wasn't nearly as bad. She was a buffer to his madness and I had no protection when she died. I felt a tear slide down my cheek and quickly wiped it away. I loved my father despite his ways.
Jason set his fork down causing me to look up. There was a look on his face that I was all to familiar with. Pity. He was looking at me like I was a small child that couldn't tend for herself. I looked away from him and finished my plate. I didn't need his pity.
The plates lifted from the table and I watched as the clattered in the sink. He gently lifted my face by nudging my chin.
"I know you're hurting Daisy Lynn, but there are some things you need to know," he said.
Leaning away from his touch I crossed my eyes and waited for him to speak.
"The first thing you need to know is essential to your survival. It is of upmost importance that you do not break this law. It could well cost you your life if you do."
"What 'law' is this?"
"Exposure. You cannot expose your power to the humans. Individually they are weaker than you, but collectively with their technology they will capture you, experiment with you and more than likely kill you. If they don't do the latter then most likely the Council will," he said.
"The Council?" I asked.
"Yes. Unknowns are subjects of and answer to the Council. They are the lawmakers of our society. If anyone of us Unknowns steps out of line we face disciplinary action by them. But they Council doesn't do the killing. The Enforcers do," he explained.
"I'm so lost right now Jason. I'm an American citizen. I answer to the government of the United States, not some supposed lawmakers called the 'council' and I sure as hell won't be punished by some 'Enforcers.' And I'm not an Unknown. I know exactly what I am. I'm Daisy Lynn, I'm human and for some strange reason I have the ability to control water," I hissed.
"The reason you have hydrokinetic ability is because you're the next step in human evolution. Your parents had just the right genetic mutation for you to develop the ability. Part of the reason we're called Unknowns is because you have a U-shaped chromosome. Another reason is because our existence is unknown to the humans around us."
"And you're just some expert on genetic mutation? Mutations don't take away your humanity. Just because you want to label me something doesn't mean that I'm not human. I haven't changed species."
"You'll learn soon enough," he sighed.
"I'm sure a Scout will be knocking on the door for us to explain ourselves. Until then we should start training. You need to learn how to maximize your ability," he continued.
He got up, but I didn't move.
"What's a Scout?" I inquired.
"A Scout is someone who scouts out potential threats to our secrecy. They make sure than Unknowns aren't intentionally putting others in jeopardy with their abilities. Once we tell them that you only just discovered your powers yesterday you'll get away with a warning. The next time it won't be pretty. Come on, let's go outside."
I got up to follow him.
"How do they keep us in line if we all have powers?" I asked.
"Good question. Do you remember when Myra said that she could tell you have power?"
I nodded.
"Each level of the government has increasing power. Scouts are level three at a minimum. They aren't there to hurt you, but they need to protect themselves incase someone gets out of line. Enforcers are anywhere from a six to an eight. They're there to keep you in line which will most likely mean pain. The Court members are all level nine. There is only one known Unknown with a level ten ability. She is called The Supreme and anyone who has to face her will most certainly die a slow and painful death," he said grimly.
"What can she do?"
Jason shook his head.
"There are only rumors. Only she, select Court members and those forced to face her know."
Not even all of the Court members were trusted to know. Jason was extremely powerful. He was a telepath and telekinetic. What could possibly be more powerful than that?
"What level do you think I am?" I asked.
Jason looked at me thoughtfully and then his eyes hazed over for a moment.
"Right now you're probably a four or five, but once you get accustomed to and if you use your power to the most of its potential you could be an eight," he said.
I mulled that over. Right now I was weak and vulnerable compared to other Unknowns.
"What level are you?"
"A nine," he replied.
Involuntarily I took a step back.
"What about Myra?"
"She's about somewhere between a seven and an eight."
I shook my head and nervously began twiddling my thumbs. For a moment I thought I was powerful, but really I'm a weakling.
"You're not weak Daisy Lynn," Jason said softly.
I looked into his light brown eyes and could tell he was speaking the truth. I knew deep down he didn't want me getting killed, most likely the same way he protected Myra. I wondered how he knew all of this. He had to have encountered either someone with authority or met someone who had. Being a mind reader had probably saved his life.
Jason grabbed a cup from the cupboard and began walking outside and I followed him. It was going to take a lot of training if I was going to become an eight. Quite a lot.
***
"I have an accurate picture do what you can already do, so today we're going to work on your control," Jason said.
I didn't think I had a problem with control, but I went along with it.
Jason sat the cup on the ground.
"I want you to lift the cup off the ground," he said stepping back to stand opposite of me.
"I control water not air. And I'm not a telekinetic like you. How am I supposed to lift it off of the ground?"
Jason shrugged. "Figure it out."
Like it was that simple.
I stared at the cup for a few minutes deliberating. It was hot outside and I was beginning to sweat. My clothes were beginning to stick to my body from the humidity. I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand. I decided to fill the cup with water from the ground.
Fail.
Water doesn't grip onto things like other elements. It simply lifted out of the cup but retained its shape. I sat down and crossed my legs. Resting my chin on my fist I looked at the cup. Next I tried freezing the water to see if the cup would gravitate. Most of the time ice came from fear. I wasn't afraid, but I was slightly frustrated. It took me a few moments to picture ice in my mind and imagine coldness so that the cup would fill with ice. Then I caused it to gravitate.
Pass.
Jason nodded. "Now try to do it without filling the glass."
I groaned. He chuckled, emptied the glass completely, and then watched attentively.
Sweat was trickling into my eyes and I had to quickly wick it away before it started stinging. I took a deep breath and ran through the possibilities. Or tried to. Intelligence wasn't my strong suit. Not that I was stupid, but I was never the best student in school. I was slightly above average and had always been okay with that. There was nobody to impress at home or at school so I'd just drifted along with the crowd. I was supposed to be a senior this fall. Neither of my parents had graduated so I hoped life would be stable enough for me to go back and finish my last year on time. I didn't want to be a failure.
My attention returned to the cup. I peeled my shirt away from my stomach and then something in my mind snapped. There was always moisture in the air. Today being especially humid was a plus. I curved my hand to make the invisible droplets of water attach to the cup and proceeded to freeze them. With a slight twitch, the cup began to levitate, seemingly on its own.
Pass.
I earned another nod from Jason and he removed all traces of water from the cup outside of the cup, filled it halfway and threw a hum dinger at me.
"Make it levitate without allowing the water on the inside to move," he said.
Why are you doing this to me? I thought not exactly at him, but still with the acknowledgement that he could hear it.
I again froze little droplets from the air onto the cup and paused to concentrate on the water inside too. I made the cup rise as smoothly as I could but despite my efforts the water on the inside swayed back and forth.
"Tsktsktsk," Jason said and the cup instantly dropped to the ground.
Fail.
I gave him an exasperated look and tried again. The water swayed minimally but it was still movement. The cup slammed to the ground before I could fully register what had happened. This was starting to get frustrating.
I decided to use my hands. Putting my left one out, I held it absolutely still and used my right hand to make the cup rise. It took a lot of concentration and just as I reached the same height I had before the water rose to the right.
Damn it, I cursed myself.
The cup fell to the ground. All this concentration was making me even hotter and this sticky shirt wasn't helping.
"I'll be back when you do it successfully as many times as you fail," Jason said as he walked off.
Did he really say what I think he said?
"Yeah," he hollered back.
I was outside for a whole 2 hours before I finally had enough control to keep the water still until the very end.
Jason came back looking cool and collected. I wanted to hate him, but he was only trying to help me. The only way to get stronger was to use my power and stretch it to its limits. Those two hours had done a number on me. Although physically I hadn't done much(except sweat in unthinkable places....every single crevice of my body was soaked) mentally I was fatigued. It wasn't quite the mental fatigue I was used to. It was like I had stretched a muscle I didn't normally use except this time it was in my mind. I knew this was my power getting stronger. A nice long shower would probably rejuvenate me.
When Jason got to me he held out his hand and helped me up.
"Thanks," I muttered. I wasn't exactly in the best of moods.
"Where's Myra been?" I asked. I hadn't seen her all day. She hadn't even come outside to check on me.
"I instructed her not to bother you. She's in the house," he told me.
I smelled horrible, but the second I crossed the threshold there was food waiting. My stomach growled and I felt inner conflict.
"It'll still be here when you get out, Daisy Lynn," he said.
I went up to my room, grabbed some clothes so I wouldn't have to run in my towel and took a hot shower. When I got out I was still tired but I felt refreshed. I took a seat at the table and ate the lunch the I assumed Jason had made. He watched me eat and then led me to the living room where Myra was watching a movie in one of the love seats.. Jason seemed to hesitate slightly before entering completely and he sat down on the other love seat. That left the couch to me. I politely stretched my legs and only halfway paid attention to the movie before I fell asleep.
It was getting dark outside when a loud knock on the door woke me up. I sat up groggily and wondered what time it was.
"It's seven o'clock," Jason said as he and Myra headed for the door.
"And we have visitors," she added.
"Who?" I asked.
"The Scouts are here," she replied.
"Oh." I'd completely forgotten about Jason's warning.
I peeked out from the couch as Jason opened the door.
Two men and a woman entered the house dressed. The woman noticed me right away and I cowered down on the couch.
The Scouts were here and it has only been about 24 hours time lapse between now and yesterday's events. That meant the Court kept a tight, all-knowing leash on the Unknowns. That meant that I would constantly be keeping an eye on my back just to keep my life.
A man grabbed Myra by the arm and the woman pointed at me.
"There she is," she said and the other man approached me.
It was going to be a long night.