The Playing Fields First Draft

Chapter Three

     What is going on?!

     Claire was in the throes of agony as the migraine intensified. She never felt one this bad, it was like something was crushing her head in a slow, horrific manner. Not to mention that it was likely that Claire was far from Lakewood, or even far from the closest person for help.

     The pain seemed to go on for an eternity, but the pain finally subsided, and Claire slowly sat up. There was something familiar about it though, Claire had known that pain a few times before, but it never presented it to herself. Something that eluded Claire when it was her turn to feel it.

     The pain of a psychic growing into their power.

     No, that's not possible. Claire shook her head at the thought. I was supposed to go through this at twelve, not nineteen!

     As Claire sat up, she felt something underneath her. It felt like something metallic, almost like a pen. Claire moved to the side and searched where she sat. It felt odd to Claire that it came so easily, but dumb luck seemed to find her at the most random spots.

     Maybe you're just a late bloomer. A voice whispered from the back of Claire's mind. Not all psychics have their power by the age that most do.

     Even so, Claire wasn't convinced she was using a psychic power to find the key component. It might be possible that if Claire was in the Other World, it may have unlocked her psychic power, much like it did for the newly born psychics in the aftermath of The Opening.

     From the corner of Claire's eye, she thought she saw someone running. As Claire pocketed the key component, she turned toward where she saw the person. While Claire wanted to call out to the person, she quieted the impulse. There was no telling what Claire saw, as the note warned, there were things in the Field to watch out for.

     Claire crept toward where she saw the person. No footprints. Claire observed. Perhaps she was just seeing things, the stress was causing all of this.

     A screech from behind Claire made her jump and turned to see a banshee charging at her. Claire ducked to her right...

     ...and the banshee disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

     It was something that Claire never thought she'd experience.

     If the Playing Fields wasn't manipulating her vision to see what it wanted her to see, it meant that Claire was seeing the past play out in this area.

     Retrocognition!

     Claire was amazed by how excited she felt. Even though Claire still wasn't certain that the power was real, it was exciting to think about how this could affect her life.

     But she had to remain focused. Claire knew that when it came to the fae, she'd have to pay attention to any attempts made by the fae to cheat. Well, at least I have the first component now. Claire winced as pain stabbed her in the head. Is this another fae trick? I don't believe that Anna or Tom had their migraines last longer than that first attack.

     "I thought I heard screaming over here!" A feminine voice said, while it sounded hushed, it was still loud enough for Claire to hear her.

     "Why are we going toward the screaming?" A young man asked, he sounded frightened by what they may find.

     "You had a choice to go off by yourself not long ago." An older man's harsh voice replied. "If it's someone in trouble, we need to help them."

     Huh. Guess I woke up later than I thought. Claire thought. The thought of three of the four abductees already finding each other was an interesting one. It was almost like the fae weren't trying to win the game. Claire was about to approach them until a sinister thought entered her mind.