Dedicated to zizzlekwum for reading and voting for my story. Thanks! It means a lot!
The man came over, snatched me off of the couch and had me on the ground before I could even blink. I let out an involuntarily gasp from the impact.
"Is being that rough necessary?" Jason said coolly. I rolled over and tried to cough, but it sounded like a wheeze. This man had knocked the wind out of me. I clutched my chest and felt tears roll down my cheeks. Why did all the bad stuff have to happen to me?
"Now, now we're just here about the little scuffle these two ladies had," the woman said.
"The blonde one just discovered her powers yesterday. She hadn't learned of the secrecy law before the events occured. Myra here was simply trying to help her get out without injuring herself or anyone else around her," Jason replied.
"Ah, but Myra here knows better and the skills needed to get out without using her abilities in front of the humans."
"She didn't do anything obvious. Nobody knew what was happening. We wouldn't even know it was her by watching the video."
"Hmm. I suppose," the woman said. I had a feeling there was going to be more coming.
"You there. Stand up," she said.
I got up hesitantly and wiped my face.
Be strong, Daisy Lynn. They'll eat you alive if you show weakness. My head snapped to attention and I looked around. My eyes connected with Jason's. He'd spoken to me mentally. I gave a mental affirmation and straightened. I had to be something I wasn't: fearless.
I took a step away from the burly man standing next to me. He huffed in response. I thought Scouts were just supposed to get information and report it to Enforcers in case it was absolutely necessary. What they were doing wasn't fitting the job description Jason had given me.
"Come here," the woman said.
I approached her hesitantly. When I got in front of her, we looked each other dead in the eye. Jason said that Scouts were a three minimally and the Enforcers started at level 6. That meant the most she could be was a 5. It meant I might have a fighting chance if things got ugly. There were three of us and three of them. If things got ugly Jason and Myra were powerful enough and had enough experience in fighting to take them out. I just had to hold my own until one of them came to the rescue me.
She reached out and touched my face. I felt a wave of calm come over me.
"There, there, child. We're not going to hurt you, unless there's a need."
That was comforting, I thought sarcastically.
"Now, tell me what happened yesterday. Starting off when you first discovered your ability," she said.
I hestitated. Pa had always made me keep my mouth shut about hit fits. How could I tell this lady, a stranger to say the least, about my abusive past? I looked around the room and noticed the man still holding Myra. My eyes met hers. This was abuse too. It was a thinly veiled bullying session.
"I'd like for you to release my friend first," I said.
The woman looked shocked to say the least. Then appalled. Then flat out disgusted.
"You think someone of your position has the right to order me and my contemporaries around?" she snapped.
"I was just making a simple request. If you're not here to hurt us, then let her go and I will tell you what happened," I replied.
She looked me over once and then snapped her fingers. The man release Myra. Myra could have taken him. She could have taken all three of them, but she didn't. She didn't stike me as the person who always obeyed authority so that meant this was important. These people wouldn't do the damage themselves, but if they were man handling us like this then the Enforcers would certainly cause some pain.
"I was hiding out at the top of Pa's barn. He was having one of his fits and I already had bruises from before," I lifted up my shirt to show her the gash on my stomach.
"When I tried to get away from him, I wiped the tears from my face and threw them at him. He deserved to have my tears. I was always crying because of him. When I threw them, they turned into shards of ice and cut into him. It gave me enough time to get down, but I tripped over a bucket of water. Pa caught up and when he attacked I raised my arms to protect myself and unknowingly created a wall of ice. I ran away and managed to get to town where Myra happened to work at te bar. I ordered a drink, but it didn't take long for Pa to find me. I hurried to the bathroom, and Myra followed me. She knew that I had a power though she couldn't tell what. She left the bathroom and on her cue I came out. It didn't take time for Pa to spot me when I tried to hide behind the bar. I ended up making another wall of ice when he fired his shotgun. After that I ran out and Myra arrived soon afterward. She was going to destroy the building to make sure there were no survivors, no human witnesses, but I begged her not to. Pa was still in there..." I trailed off, careful to leave Hunter out. I didn't know what the Scouts did to humans that found out about our existence. My conscience would never let me live it down if they killed Hunter over my mistake. Although our encounter was brief, I knew he didn't want me to get hurt.
"Interesting," was all she said.
I resisted the urge to slap the taste out of her mouth. This Scout was phonier than the cheese they gave us for school lunch.
"I suppose there's no reason for disciplinary action. If you threaten to expose us again, however, there will be," she said menacingly.
I nodded tightly.
She turned to leave. The men followed but the one that held Myra turned around to Jason.
"Keep your women under control," he said.
I don't know why but I looked over at Myra. Her eyes were glowing, her jaw was clenched and her hands balled in and out of fists. Authority did not rub her the right way. She'd only been around for a few months and these Scouts knew her name. The Scouts had to have been here at least a few times. That's not to say his comment wasn't offensive- it was. But it was obvious Myra disliked the rules we had to abide by. She definitely benefited from Jason. He was keeping her grounded.
"Ah, they have minds of their own. But they do keep me...entertained," he said.
The man chuckled and then left closing the door.
"That cannot happened again," Jason said in a hushed tone.
"Who do those people think they are? I can't stand their haughty attitudes. They don't even have real powers!" Myra hissed quietly.
"Why are you whispering?" I asked.
"You never know if they have good hearing," she replied.
After a few moments, Jason's shoulders relaxed. "They're out of hearing range now."
"It sure felt like they were looking for a fight just to be scouting out information," I commented.
"Sometimes they're a little rough. But these ones meant well," Jason said.
"You always say that, Jason," Myra said exasperated.
"What would have happened if we did fight?"
"There were Enforcers close by. They either would have killed us or taken us to the Courts," Jason said.
I sat down on the couch. This was all just a little too much. I'd rather be with Pa. Myra walked over to me.
"We should all probably get some shut eye," she said patting me on the shoulder and heading upstairs not waiting for my response. Jason looked at me for a moment before stepping into the kitchen.
I covered my face with my hands. My life was doing a complete 180 and I had no control over it. How could they expect me to sleep when there would always be someone watching my back? Whether it be Jason making sure I keep my powers a secret or the Scouts coming to investigate if I did something out of line or the Enforcers punishing me for my actions. I couldn't breathe.
I was just a small town country girl. All I'd ever known was the farm and learning how to deal with Pa. I didn't know how I was supposed to survive in a world in which I didn't even know what I was. Jason could only teach me so much. He could only protect so much. Even Myra couldn't protect me fully. I had to learn how to protect myself from new dangers. My power wasn't even completely developed. All I knew is that I had potential, and that wasn't very reassuring. Potential was what I could be, not what I was.
My breathing became hitched and became ragged. I was going to start hyperventilating if I couldn't get a handle on myself.
I was weakest one in this house. If they chose to turn in me there was nothing I could do. I might be able to take Myra if I got in a good sneak attack, but Jason was too strong. He had a better grip on water than I did, and even if he didn't he could read my mind as I made my moves. He'd always be a step ahead and I'd be struggling to keep up. What if Enforcers showed up just because? I was a four or five according to Jason. The strongest one had the potential to he twice as strong as me.
A chill ran through me and my heart started beating double time. I started wheezing and knew I'd pushed myself over the edge. My hands moved from my face to my chest and tears blurred my vision. I needed to get a grip but I couldn't. My mind wouldn't stop racing. All I could see was my corpse lying on the ground in some unknown, ungodly, desolate place with an Unknown shaking his or her head at my inability to protect myself. There was no way. No freaking way.
Something warm and wet touched my shoulder and I jumped back and swung at the same time. In my panic my arm became coveted in rock hard ice and the impact sounded painful.
"Ouch! It's just me Daisy Lynn," his agitation was thinly veiled.
"Damn it, Jason! Did you really have to scare me like that?" I hollered.
"Well if you would have responded when I called you, then I wouldn't have had to. But you were doing a good job of scaring yourself without my help," he snapped.
I glared at him for the insult, but I was still petrified. My breathing was still rough, but it was getting better.
"Why are you wet?" I asked, as I eyeballed his shirt clinging to his abdomen.
"Because your little panic attack was a trigger and kitchen was the closest water source. You almost busted the pipes. Any longer and we'd probably have a serious plumbing issue on our hands," he said giving me a look I couldn't read. Our eyes stayed locked for a few more moments before I broke contact and looked at my thumbs that had been dancing on their own accord in my nervousness.
"Sorry," I mumbled.
He grunted as he leaned back, folded his arms over his chest and scrutinized me. I didn't like the gaze he was giving me.
"How old are you?" I asked wanting to change the subject.
Jason paused, but proceeded to answer.
"Twenty."
"And you've had your power for how long?"
"Six months."
"How did you discover your power?"
"Same as you."
I didn't really know what that meant, but I conceded. Obviously he didn't want to talk. Which was good because I'd wanted to wallow in my misery alone. I stood up to leave, but Jason pushed me back down on the couch. I looked up him shocked and slightly afraid. This is exactly what I'd feared.
"You don't have to be afraid of me, Daisy Lynn. I'm here to help you get stronger. If I wanted you dead I would've killed you when we first met," he said matter-of-factly.
It seemed like it was 'tell-Daisy-Lynn-how-killable-she-is' day. Jason let out an exasperated groan.
"Daisy Lynn if you don't learn how to use your power to the fullest extent then you'll always be a target. Any Enforcer you meet will push you around like a weakling and the same as the Scouts. God help you if you have to visit with the Court," he said.
He basically just said what I already knew. I was too weak to fend for myself.
"Since you're so strong why aren't you an Enforcer? Or a Court?" I asked hotly. Nobody would be able to lie to him. Plus he seemed good enough at keeping Unknowns in check.
"Not my forte," was all he said. Apparently he wasn't falling for my ruse. I gave up.
"May I go to bed now?"
Jason sat down next to me on the couch and ran his hands through his hair.
"You immediately trusted Myra. Why don't you trust me?" He asked after a few moments.
I looked away from him. I couldn't verbalize my fear, so instead I decided to show him. Letting my mind drift I showed him memory after memory of Pa gaining my trust only to break it. Time after time he would fool me into thinking he had my best interest at heart. His actions would be very convincing - treating me to dinner, ice cream after school, taking me to the movies. He'd fool me every time, making me put my guard down, just to betray my trust. He was my father, and I desperately wanted him to love me, despite everything. Jason had invaded and violated me in an indescribable way when we met. I couldn't just let that go after one training session.
Jason nodded to himself.
"I'm sorry for hurting you. Just let me teach you what I know and you can do whatever you want. I can't teach you everything, but I know enough to make you formidable," he said.
I thought about it. He seemed sincere. Jason didn't have any obligation to help me so that should speak volumes. I let out a small sigh that turned into a yawn and rested my head on his shoulder without thinking about it.
"Okay," I responded closing my eyes. I needed to keep training with him so that I could protect myself.
Jason's shirt was soft, and his shoulder was pure muscle. I silently wondered how Myra lived with Jason for months without falling for him. Myra was breathtakingly gorgeous and shapely and Jason was handsome and well built. It was just the two if them for quite a while and they're both adults. Who knew what kind of relationship they had? I felt Jason stiffen and I leaned away from him.
Jason's face was twisted into a tight expression. Something about my thoughts made him visibly uncomfortable, which was shocking. My curiosity was certainly peaked by his reaction, but I knew better than to ask. I'd learned from trying to have conversations with Pa to mind my own business. He seemed to relax slightly at that.
The atmosphere was tenser than I'd like so I decided it was time to hit the hay whether Jason wanted me to or not. If I was going to be prepared for training in the morning I needed to be well rested. I patted his shoulder as I got up and headed towards my room. As I climbed into my bed where I thought it was safe to think without company I resolved three things: I was going to become as powerful as my gift would allow me, I would endeavor to spend time with Myra despite the tiredness I knew was going to come with training, and somehow I would figure out what the dynamic of their relationship was without outright asking.