Desired Life

Chapter 4: The Kin of the Eight

Chapter 4: The Kin of the Eight

  What actually got me back home was Grindel’s reaction when I told him what had happened. I know that it was a close call this time, but there was not much I could’ve done. If it hadn’t been for my powers, I would never have gotten out of there...I would never have been trapped if I didn’t have powers, now that I come to think of it. I’d rather stay with my powers though; I don’t care if it means danger, but without my powers I wouldn’t know of this magnificent side of the world.
  As some would say, my powers are a blessing. But they can also be a curse at times like this. From what Grindel told me yesterday when we met back at the Outsider Safe House (that’s what they call it) Grindel told me everything. Not literally everything, since nobody knows the meaning of everything, at least not the true meaning, but he told me everything (here we go again with the incomplete word) he knew about the world of the Outsiders. New information was added to the basic information I was given the night past.
  Apparently, the war with the Corporeal Hybrids had started seconds after I had escaped their facility, jumping to attack at defenseless Outsiders (not that Outsiders are defenseless with their powers and else). Only three of the seventy victims managed to escape alive. One of them was a woman by the name of Olivia Clearman. Apparently when scared, she is dangerous. From what Grindel told me, she used her Illusionist powers to escape. She tortured some by showing them their worst fears, and fooled the others my making the running workmates look like her. And I thought that Illusionists were not really a problem. Hell, I was wrong. Then, the other two were men. One of them called James Morgan, who escaped thanks to his Clairvoyance, since as soon as he knew, he avoided the place where they would catch him. Then the other one, Logan Hue managed to defeat the Hybrids by turning into a wolf since he is a Lunar. Of course, the Corporeal Hybrids don’t know what our powers are, and so they inject the paralyzer into you. Apparently, the paralyzer is a general one, and having a new-found power broke the spell, making me able to use my powers again. But what I felt wasn’t the normal feeling, or so did Grindel tell me. He said that I must’ve drawn the paralyzer’s strength and made it my own, so that if they catch me again, I won’t be affected by the paralyzer. The ingenuity of your body.
  Later, Grindel told me that Olivia talked to him personally, asking for a meeting with me. And so, here I stand, waiting for Olivia behind a big glass building.
  I see a shadow walking straight at me and I wait. I wait until the shadow nears and enters the hidden room behind the trapdoor in the floor. We enter and, after closing the door, I turn the light on the room. The room glows red with its crimson walls. The light is burning white but, as a red room would normally turn the light red, the light turns hot blue. When I look at her face, I am trapped by her eyes. Though brown, they have a whole history and they look beautiful. Her hair shines, dark brown where no light strikes, brown where light strikes. I look into her eyes and read her name. I confirm it’s Olivia and start, “So, what do you wanted to talk to me about?”
  “Well, you see, I wanted to talk to you because I heard that you are planning on recruiting a whole new group of Outsiders.”
  That is a piece of information I forgot to mention. Grindel told me that I had to start making my group of Outsider while he worked with his so that the chances of terminating the Corporeal Hybrids rose. I had to accept, since he threatened with not training me if I didn’t make my own. He also told me that I always needed to be with a few because I had to be protected at all times, especially since I was the principal target of the CH. And so I agreed.
  “Yes, I am. So, how old are you?”
  “Twenty years old, and still working fine.”
  “Where do you come from?”
  “United States of America, naturally.”
  “So, why do you want to help me?”
  “Well, I just like to help,” she answers me sympathetically.
  I sigh and nod. Then, I start walking around the room.
  “You are an Illusionist, I heard. Is that right?”
  “Yes. Though I don’t like using my powers much. Don’t like hurting people.”
  “Surprisingly understandable. I don’t like to hurt people either, though being a Berserker, I can’t help it many times.”
  “So it is true? That you are a Berserker, I mean.”
  “Why would it not be?”
  “I don’t know. So, what are your powers?”
  “Well, from what I have seen, I can teleport and I can animorph.”
  “Animorph? What is that exactly?”
  “The ability to transform into animals.”
  “Really? I love animals!”
  I smile and laugh.
  “So do I. Wolves, especially. Such elegant yet ferocious animals.”
  “I must admit that that is true.”
  “And, apparently, I have one more power in stock. Telekinesis, I think it is.”
  “Oh wow, you truly are powerful.”
  She sighs and silence penetrates the room. I look up and down at her and I notice that she seems kind and quite understanding.
  “When did you learn about your powers?”
  “About when I was three years old.”
  “Wow! Really?”
  “Yes. Tried to jack my mother. My mind just fooled the man into giving him his things instead than taking my mom’s things. Worked perfectly.”
  “Never heard of such a thing before. You know, I like you. I think I will accept you inside my group.”
  “That’s amazing! How many are we?”
  “Well, so long...just the two of us. I am still working on recruiting more people,” I say candidly.
  “I could help. I know many Outsiders that are more than willing to help you, especially in these dangerous times.”
  I nod, smile at her and open the trapdoor. She hugs me and we rush out of the area. I teleport both of us to a clear space. We shake hands and she leaves with a huge smile on her face. I notice that, as she walks, the air in front of me shimmers and then, there is no Olivia left to see. I turn around and teleport home.
There, I wait for Grindel, since today is training day. Actually, all days have turned out to be training days. Ever since yesterday, Grindel and I agreed that we should start training next day, that being today, and keeping with it until I no longer need help with controlling my powers. Of course, being a Berserker, I can and never will be able to control my powers completely, but I’ll have to manage with that.
  The doorbell rings and I run outside, calling goodbye and running downstairs, taking a copy of the keys that open my house and hurtling into Grindel’s car.
  “Why are we in a car when we can teleport?” I ask him.
  “Because I teleporting is not a way of transport. Plus, we need to hide our powers for a while,” he answers.
  “Why do we need to hide our powers?” I inquire.
  “Corporeal Hybrids are looking for us, and a single activation of power will raise an alarm inside the corporation, warning everyone and giving away the exact position. That’s why we shouldn’t use our powers just now. I left Sebastian back at the Safe House for a reason. He’s a Protector. Protectors can hide others when necessary. They just work their magic and it hides people.”
  I nod and wait. Grindel turns on the radio and drives out of the parkway. We head off into the mountains slowly. Meanwhile, we hear again and again too many of my favorite songs: “Shark Attack” by Grouplove is repeated a few times, so does “Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)” by The Wombats, and “Best Day of My Life” by American Authors as well. Then “La La La” by Naughty Boys and plenty other songs I love. We shout the lyrics as the songs go on and then, I connect my phone and play the entire Fall Out Boy album “Save Rock & Roll” and some from “Infinity on High”.
  We reach the hideout and we enter the place. I notice that it’s an old, abandoned storage, big enough to house some seventy people. “So, this is where we’re training then?” I ask. Grindel nods and enters the storage. I enter it too and walk around the room.
  “I’m going to need your help in order to clean up this place,” Grindel says.
  “It’s gonna take a while,” I admit.
  “Not with your powers,” he replies, looking at me.
  “Weren’t we supposed not to use our powers?” I inquire.
  “We’re out of boundaries,” he says simply.
  “Fair enough,” I answer.
  “Our training starts now. Use your powers to move these things out of the way, please,” Grindel says as he walks into the mess and kicks things sideways.
  I stand in the entrance and close my eyes, opening my hands and facing my palms upwards. I feel a surge of power and I feel something lifting near me. When I open my eyes, I see a TV being lifted in the air. But then, the force wanes and the TV crashes back into the mess.
  “Concentrate,” Grindelwald says.
  “I’m trying,” I say as I close my eyes and concentrate again.
  This time, I pour all my strength into it and, after nearly making my head explode, the things start moving all at once. They all lift high into the air.
  “Excellent! Now, smash them together,” Grindelwald commands.
  I open my eyes and move my hands in a clapping motion. Everything smashes into one another, some forming a single, destructed lump.
  “Great! Now, try to make it a ball. Move your hands around, make a ball with them as you move them,” Grindel mutters.
  I do as he says and slowly, everything combines into a huge ball of old, battered things.
  “Throw it away,” he finally says.
  I make a throwing motion with my hands and, using my last bit of strength, send the things flying away.
  “And that’s how you get cleaning done,” I say, laughing as I crouch on the floor.
  Grindel laughs and sits beside me. We look at the setting sun, the beautiful orange filtering the plain. We turn around and look at each other. He stands up, offers me help, and then walks back to the car. I follow him into the car and we depart.
  “I think that was enough training for today, you know?” He says.
  “Yeah, I agree,” I respond.