The Watchers (15 page)

Daniel laughed that strange laugh, which
never quite seemed to reach his eyes. “It’s a mutant! It’s an
alien! No! It’s Mark!”

The girls beyond Mark laughed. Winking at me
again, Mark turned back to his target. In an attempt at reclaiming
his dignity, he started showing off for the girls. He flexed his
muscles as he warmed up for his next shot. I rolled my eyes.

“I think you should be careful what you ask
for,” I whispered to Daniel, so the others wouldn’t hear. “Being
able to see the future would be awesome, but I think some of the
other things could be very bad.”

“Like what?” he asked, not even bothering
with the targets anymore. Coach was talking to a boy about the
basketball lineup and ignoring the class entirely. The only way he
would notice we weren’t participating was if a building blew up; if
even that would get his attention.

“Like hearing what people think,” I said
cautiously. “I think that would be quite a burden to have to bear.
Imagine the silly and spiteful things people would think.” My eyes
moved to Jennifer, Mark, and Michelle.

“But I’d be able to control my abilities, so
it would be okay.”

“Oh, I see.” I knocked another arrow to avoid
looking at him. “Let me know how that works out for you.” I
released the arrow with a spiteful snap.

“Do you think things like that are
possible?”

I turned to face him. His face was thoughtful
and serious.

“Anything is possible, I guess,” I said,
uncomfortably aware he was looking to start a conversation on the
subject.

He was always looking for conversations like
that, testing my ideas and perceptions every chance he got. I had
come to expect as much from him, but I didn’t really want to talk
about this. Not when it was so close to the truth. I didn’t want to
lie. Especially since I knew he would see through them.

Daniel took a step closer, bringing his
magnetic field with him. “There’s a theory out there that people
only use about ten percent of their brains,” he began.

“I know I do.”

He smirked then continued very seriously,
“Imagine if they used even five percent more…What could they
accomplish at twenty percent or thirty percent more? Could things
like telling the future, or going back in time, or whatever, be
possible if people simply used more of their brains?”

“I haven’t thought about it,” I said despite
being uncomfortable with the topic we were on. “But I think it’s an
interesting idea. I think people spend a lot of their time not
tapping into their true potential.”

“How do you think we could unlock that
potential?”

“I don’t know, maybe by altering people’s
genes? We know mutations occur; evolution is proof of that. If we
could somehow tap into the genome and alter a person’s basic DNA
structure maybe that would allow them to use more of their brain.
Force a mutation, you know? If we alter it in the proper way,
evolution would take over and people would start being born
stronger, using more of their brains. We would have to be careful
to trigger the right things, though, or else we could make
monsters, or horrible diseases, or something else bad.”

“You have thought about it!” His eyes were
very bright.

“Not really.” And I hadn’t. I had just
spouted off my first thought without pausing to consider them. That
happened a lot around him.

Daniel stepped even closer. I had to lean
back to be able to breathe normally. “What if, instead of altering
the genes through experiments, we altered the genes through basic
inheritance?”

“How do you mean?”

“Someone who uses more of their brain mates
and has kids. Their kids, because of simple genetics, would be born
with enhanced abilities and strengths. And if those kids mated with
other kids that used more of their brain…you get the picture?”

My heart skipped a beat. “Finding a person or
people with those abilities in the first place would be the trick I
think.”

“Sort of like the chicken and the egg
dilemma?”

“Yeah. Which came first, the super human, or
the super human powers?” I chuckled darkly.

Daniel didn’t join my laugh. His eyes were
still sparkling with curiosity and interest. Then, he noticed Mark
and Jennifer eyeing us curiously and moved away. We were silent for
a while, shooting at the targets and listening to the people near
us horsing off. I was frantically trying to figure out if Daniel
somehow knew about me, if he had noticed me responding to someone’s
thoughts. No, that wasn’t possible. I couldn’t hear people when he
was around. I wasn’t comfortable with his talk about inheriting
genes from super humans, though. It was too close to the truth.

My muscles tensed with a familiar fight or
flight response. When people got too close to the truth, we ran. It
was instinct now. It was what Ellen and I had spent over a decade
perfecting. My stomach sank as I thought of Ellen. She was fitting
in so beautifully here. She had friends, and Sam had been over
twice more for dinner without me having to play Cupid. She had
laughed more with him than I had seen her laugh in years. She was
settled, finally able to relax after a life spent in one big move.
She thought, hoped, our running was through. This place had turned
into a refuge; had turned into a home. Could I take that away from
her? Was it right for me to overreact to every innocent
conversation? I didn’t want to be found by the others, but I didn’t
like Ellen having to give up so much for my sake. It wasn’t fair to
her. Admittedly, I had more selfish reasons for not wanting to run.
I found myself liking King’s Cross. It was quiet and unabashedly
remote, but there was a certain peace I needed. There was a calm I
had never experienced in the city.

I thought about Daniel’s parents and relaxed,
my muscles unknotting. They were a plausible reason for his
interest. They were scientists, so they probably talked to him
about such things. From his vague descriptions, I gathered that
they were constantly interested in the ‘why,’ always taking things
apart to understand them. Maybe, they longed to take humans apart
to see how their brains worked.

“What’s your parents’ field of study?” I
asked over the tension that had sprung up between us. I’d not asked
him that yet.

He hesitated before releasing his arrow.
“Genetics is their main focus, but they play around with all the
fields. They love to invent things.”

“Ah.”

“Why?”

His face was twisted into a question, but his
eyes were on the woods again. I wanted to ask him if he saw
anything there. The evil thoughts I’d heard had come from near
where he was looking.

Instead, I said, “I was just wondering why
you would have such weird thoughts about superpowers and the
like.”

“You think it’s odd?”

“Wanting to be more than we are is human
nature, but dwelling on it doesn’t seem healthy,” I said seriously.
“Especially when those things, as far as you’re concerned, aren’t
possible.”

“Hm. Good thing I don’t dwell on it.”

“Back to the lockers! Leave the bows and
arrows where you found them!” Coach called over the talking
students, a look of disinterest in his bloodshot eyes.

I walked with Daniel towards the gym in
mutually thoughtful silence. I sensed he didn’t feel like talking,
but I didn’t take offense. Over our weeks together, we had
developed a respect for each other’s silent moments. Though we were
silent, my mind was far from peaceful. I glanced back to search the
woods for some sign of the evil thoughts and noticed Amanda, her
shoulders hunched, at the back of the crowd. She was looking down,
but something in the crease of her forehead worried me. It went way
beyond thoughtful silence.

“Daniel?”

“Yes?”

“Do me a favor?”

“Yes.”

“Walk away.”

“Excuse me?”

“Just go walk up with the others about 100
feet away from me,” I said. “Please.”

I sounded strange, but I didn’t care. I
needed to be able to hear. My gut was telling me it was important.
He walked off without a word, though his odd expression spoke
volumes. The voices started swirling again, starting out muffled,
but gradually increasing in volume until they were at normal level.
I sorted through the visions and chatter until I found
Amanda’s.

I’m just sick of all this.
Why can’t I just have one thing that works out?
She
had broken her bow accidently and had spent the whole class unable
to join the fun.
Does God hate me? God
hates me. He knows about my mother. He knows about my father. I’m
being punished. Oh, what’s the point?

An image of a beautifully sheltered spot next
to a large river floated through my head. I didn’t recognize it,
but it made me feel uneasy, as if I had witnessed something
horrible there. Before her vision changed back to thoughts of her
next class, I noticed a small bridge with graffiti on it and a road
made of dirt and gravel trailing along the edge of the water.

The poor kid really was depressed. Even
though Amanda wouldn’t talk to me, and hated me for my
‘popularity,’ I wanted to help her. With Alex and Daniel as backup,
I could probably get Jennifer to leave her alone and give her some
peace from the teasing. Despite Jennifer looking and acting the
part of the queen bee of the high school, Alex and Daniel were
really the ones in control. Alex’s power resided in the respect
everyone had for her, and her ability to keep secrets. Daniel’s
power was because he was beautiful, charming, and quite possibly
the most brilliant person to walk the school halls. Not that I was
biased in any way.

I caught up with Daniel again as we were
passing the large structure which housed the pool, my curiosity
sated. I would find a way to help Amanda, even if she didn’t know I
had a hand in it. It gave me purpose. The pool bordered the back of
the school, flush with the woods and looked odd against the brick
of the main buildings. It was a donation from Daniel’s parents, so
he could form a swim team. I had heard he had led them to State. Go
team.

“The Shadow was way cooler than Superman,” I
said as if I hadn’t just forced him to walk away from me without an
explanation.

He stopped abruptly and ran a hand through
his hair. His face said I’d caught him thinking about something
especially serious. He hid his gravity with a mocking smile. “Where
on earth did you get that reference from?”

“Oh, come on! You don’t know who the Shadow
is?!”

“The superhero off of 1930’s radio. His
superpower was hypnosis. He could make people not see him, in
effect turning invisible,” he answered promptly.

“What evil lurks in the heart of men? The
Shadow knows!” I said in a deeply dramatic voice. “You do know him,
then?”

“Of course, I do, but how do you know about
him?

“Why can you know about him, but I can’t?” I
asked.

“Because I’m into that type of thing, and
you’re not,” he said calmly.

“You’re into science fiction! Ha! I wouldn’t
have figured you for it!” He didn’t rise to my teasing, just waited
patiently. I hated that tactic. Mostly because it worked so well.
“I went through a phase where I listened to nothing but old radio
broadcasts. The Shadow was one of many programs I liked. That was
also when I fell in love with Jazz and Orson Welles.”

I waited for him to make some kind of teasing
comment, to continue our banter, but he didn’t. His eyes had gone
distant and strange, our conversation obviously not his top
priority. The others had pulled ahead of us, leaving us to the
solitary company of the pool. I knew we were going to be late to
our next class, but I wasn’t worried. Being late to class wasn’t
exactly new to me, and Daniel’s expression – a far-away stare – was
something I’d seen him doing a lot. It made me curious. I had shut
off a lot of the questions I had about in him in lieu of being his
friend, but I couldn’t shut them all down. He was still a
curiosity.

I stepped closer, totally engrossed in the
play of emotion in his eyes. I hadn’t registered until now, how
strange, otherworldly, it made him look. A familiar swirl of inky
black swelled up and covered his green irises for a long moment. A
vein throbbed in his temple at whatever he was thinking about. His
eyes cleared, and he turned abruptly. He opened the pool house door
with a jerk, the metal groaning in protest at his touch.

“Get in!” he demanded, his free hand
clenching into a ball.

“What?” I balked at the door, not
understanding. I’d never seen his face so intense…so terrified.

“For once, don’t argue with me!” he said
fiercely.

Angry at his tone, but aware of his fear, I
walked through the door. “What’s your problem?”

The words were barely out of my mouth when
everything went from mildly strange to incredibly deadly. Without
warning, a ball of fire surged towards us from directly outside the
door we had just entered. It was coming out of nowhere and fast. I
gasped in astonishment. My brain stopped working. I knew I should
move or try to duck, but the shock had me frozen in place. How did
fire come out of nowhere?

Before I could react, Daniel reached forward
and wrapped one arm around my waist. My hands slid around his waist
in reflex, my heart pounding harder at his touch. The fire roared
at us, shattering the glass. Running out of space, Daniel threw us
backwards into the pool. We hit with a loud splash and all the air
surged out of my lungs. With Daniel’s added weight, I sank to the
bottom very quickly. His hand under my head was the only thing that
kept me from hitting my skull on the hard concrete.

I didn’t move for a second, dazed, my mind
trying to catch up. Awareness came with a flood of panic. I
struggled against the weight and the panic. Water rushed into my
mouth at my frightened scream. I tried to kick back to the surface,
back to air. Daniel held me down, though, not allowing me to kick
off. More air bubbles escaped with my curse. Was he trying to drown
me? Even as I struggled, I knew I couldn’t fight against him. He
was too strong. I felt his strength as he held my arms. His eyes
met mine, and he pointed up for an explanation. The top of the pool
was completely on fire. We had no other options.