VOICES

Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

I blinked several times, not quite believing what I was hearing. How was I not human? What was a Forte? Why did he say I was a Forte, too? What was-

"Slow down, Miss Aimes! Please, be patient, I will explain everything. Just listen and try not to interrupt, ok?" I mutely nodded my head, wary of how the strange man always seemed to know my thoughts.

"Now, our history extends back hundreds and hundreds of years. I don't know the exact year the first Forte was recorded, but his name was Bartholamew Carter. It is written that one day, while he was visiting his village's market, a random man confronted him about his unpaid taxes to the King. He was barely making ends meet and pleaded with the man to give him more time. The collector refused and brought Bartholamew into custody, throwing him in a prison cell to slowly rot away. Now, the youg man had a little girl at home by herself, as his wife had died years before due to a deadly plague. And as he lie there, shackled to a grimy stone wall, with only rats to keep him company, he thought of his precious little girl. How she was all alone, at just 10 years old, with no idea what had happened to her daddy. And he got angry. So furious, that he started screaming and thrashing about, trying desperately to get back to his litle princess." Don's voice had become somber and serious. It sounded as if what he was telling me was personal for him, somehow. I opened my mouth to ask why this was so important, that I still didn't get how all this applied to me, when he abruptly cut me off.

"The records state that when several prison gaurds ran up to his cell to try and subdue him, his body was covered in flames. They were furious and scorching, keeping the guards away for fear of being burned. But the crazy part, is that he wasn't burned at all; the flames didn't effect him. People didn't know it then, but his emotions were what caused his powers to appear at that moment. It took a great emotional ordeal to unleash a Forte's powers for the first time back then, but now there's a certain age that they start to appear. Though I digress; Bartholamew wound up severly burning the several prison gaurds after melting his cell bars, completely. No one could subdue him, due to the blazing flames he emmitted, and so, he was able to run back to his cottage. He was reunited with his daughter who immediately left with him. The flames had stopped once he reached his home and could see that his little girl was safe. After packing their belongings, they traveled on horseback to a town further North, running away from everyone in his village who were hunting for the 'monster'." I was hypnotized. The words Don spoke began to captivate me and hold me hostage until he had finished his story. I couldn't help but interrupt.

"Did they make it? Were they killed?" I held my breath for his answer. The answers seeming more important than they should have.

He chuckled in his deep voice, "Fortes exist today, do they not? After all, Bartholamew is the one that started this organization all that time ago. He spent years and years researching his powers, testing his limits, and the science behind it. He found that his daughter didn't have any power whatsoever, so we know that it's not hereditary. And although he did discover many new and amzing things about our kind, we still don't know everything. For example, we know that we aren't human, our genetic makeup and DNA are different than that of an average human's, but we don't know exactly where our kind originated from. There are still questions to be answered: what's the pattern? Why are some poeple human and others a Forte? Are there other supernatural creatures out there in hiding? So, you see, we don't know everything, but what I do know, is that you, my dear, are most definently one of us." I could practicly hear the grin in his voice. He seemed very happy that I was here. But why? I mean, wasn't I just like every other Forte out there? I wasn't special.

I couldn't believe I was actually accepting what this man was saying as fact. I was just bascally told that I was some sort of alien thing, and there were actually others like me out there. Rubbing my forehead, I tried to think as a headache grew.