The Chosen: the Age of Corbin Tyler the Undying

Chapter 5

I was kind of surprised by his words, but I was also skeptical. Not just of him, but of the whole situation. I mean, come on. A talking cat was telling me that I was more than the average person could ever hope to be. Beyond all hope of grandeur that a person could imagine.

I mean, that's what it was, I didn't know it at the time. All I was thinking in that moment was "I am losing my mind."

I was silent. I had no intention of breaking that silence either. I was going to stare at this cat until it started meowing like a cat should.

"I'm not going to meow," he said with a touch of impatience.

"Why not?" I asked. "This has all got to be in my head. There's no way this is real."

He hmphed. "Well, it is. And you had better start believing. That earthquake, the volcanic eruption, the stabbing of Mr. Carr, the detective. These are all just the start of something much greater. They may seem like big events to you, but they are just the smallest of pebbles that will start the greatest of landslides the likes of which the Rift has never seen."

"The Rift?" I echoed.

"You have much to learn, but for now, we will focus on your eyes," he stated.

"My eyes?"

"Yes," he said almost a little too excited for my liking. "'The eyes are the window to the soul,' as they say, and it is true. But they also let you see, and what the average person sees is oh so limited. Just the tiniest of scratches on the largest of surfaces. But you and I have the ability to see past the veil of the physical light."

"What's past that?" I asked.

"There are several dimensions of sight," Tritan explained. "The first is the one most see, the one where you see the light reflected off of objects to determine their shape, color, and size. Beyond that is the dimension where everything is defined and represented by the level of power in it. The second dimension is an intimidating one. And that is where we will start when we do start training. The third dimension is where we see the energy left in things. Kinetic, potential, and life energy are all visible. There are more, the seventh dimension of sight is where one can see the soul and the heart of hearts. But for now, we will focus on getting you to be able to consistently look into the second dimension of sight."

"Whoa." I held up my hands in a slow down gesture. "I haven't agreed yet."

His shoulders slumped like he was exasperated. "Well, by all means, make your own decision. But I don't think you'll have to think that hard for long."

"I do want to consider, I feel like this is too dangerous to just leap into," I told him. "Where will you be?"

"Just say my name, I'll be there."

"What are you, a summon?" I asked sarcastically.

He didn't answer but disappeared from where he sat.

-

The next few days, well, they were boring, all of our school supplies had been destroyed. So, we couldn't do our school, and given that it was so close to the end of the school year anyway, we elected to wait and enroll in public school the next semester.

I got so bored on the fourth day, that I went out to where our house had been, just to take a look around.

I slipped behind the barrier that blocked it off from trespassers. Where the house had once been, there was now a gaping hole. I looked down it and could not see the bottom. I kicked a rock down and after about thirty seconds, I heard the faint sound of it clattering at the bottom.

I stepped back and moved toward the shed, which was - miraculously - intact. The door was locked, not surprisingly. But I tried it again just because, and the handle turned, and the door swung open.