Friday, September 20th
5:46 PM
The three mischievous friends were in Sam's unusually clean garage. It was unusual as it seemed too empty for its size. There was a dartboard, a bench, tools on the wall, and a car trailer. They had been playing darts a couple of times, but the real reason for being at Sam's was for two reasons: one, Sam's father wasn't home, and two, they had a new mission.
"I can't do it," Ashley said in frustration.
"Yes, you can, you've done it before," Nathan protested.
"Yeah, in a dream. This is different. This is the waking world," she explained again.
"True, but Hank said that the transfer has started, which means it is possible now," Sam chimed in.
Ashley rolled her eyes but decided to try again. Okay, focus, Ash. She reached out her hands and fixated on that cigarette. Her goal was to have it roll across the table with her mind. But she'd been trying for three days now with no success. How had she managed to throw Hank meters with her mind but couldn't move a cigarette a millimeter? She'd been having different dreams now too. That's expected when Ashley would purposely wake herself up each time she would encounter a dream.
A minute passed, and Ashley was still staring at that cigarette; it hadn't moved at all.
"Enough." Ashley gave up. "I can't do it, there has to be another way."
"Maybe you're not trying hard enough?" Nathan admitted.
This sentence fired her up. How dare he say that? He doesn't know what it's like.
"I am trying!" Ashley shouted, slamming her hand onto the bench the cigarette was resting on.
In that exact moment, the dartboard nearby to Nathan came crashing down, sending darts in all directions. The two boys jumped in shock with their mouths wide open. Their attention shifted back onto Ashley, who also was in complete shock.
"You actually did it!" Nathan said, smiling.
"It's anger," Sam mentioned.
"Anger? What do you mean?" Ashley wondered.
"On the occasions you have used your abilities, you have been feeling angry," Sam said.
This seemed true. Each time Ashley had been able to use the curse, as Hank called it, she had been feeling a huge surge of rage. Usually, Ashley wasn't an angry person, but since the accident, things had changed. Whether that be due to the trauma or the curse, she didn't know.
"I guess so." Ashley shrugged.
"Try again, Ash," Nathan suggested. "Think of something that makes you angry."
Ashley had doubted that she'd be able to do it again but realized that her doubt was most likely what was holding her back. When she became lucid in her dreams and could manipulate the dreaming realm, there wasn't any doubt. Although manipulating the dream realm was substantially easier than the waking world, for whatever reason that may be. Ashley closed her eyes and thought through her memories, which brought up the most anger. She wished she spent more time with her father. She wished Hank wasn't such an ass. But mostly, she wished she could have saved those students on the bus that day. If only she could go back again and change what had happened. But she knew she wasn't able to do that. If she couldn't even do it in the dreaming realm, how could she in the waking world? She directed her attention to that day. All she did was flee the scene rather than stopping a tragedy, and now she was burdened with that forever, and there wasn't anything she could do about it. It was her fault they died. Her chest grew tight and her mouth dry as the anger definitely started settling in.
It's all your fault!
Ashley could almost hear the blame she put on herself, and it hurt; nothing could make her angrier than that. Not even her own father's death. Her eyes opened, and she blinked away a tear that proceeded to roll down the side of her cheek. She extended her arm toward the dartboard that had fallen to the ground and willed it to move, to rise from the ground and to be placed back on that hook in the wall. Except it wouldn't budge. She focused so hard that everything around her seemed to disappear.
It's all your fault!
"It is not!" Ashley shouted to her own mind.
The dartboard flew across the garage, crashing loudly into the tin wall. Ashley felt unsure about her newfound abilities. One feeling was telling her that having these powers was completely badass, while the other was telling her that this was only the beginning. Maybe her father's warning could be true. That her life really would change forever. This sent a shiver down Ashley's back. She wasn't prepared for this.
"Well, Ash," Nathan began, "Now that you have these powers, what are you going to do with them?"
"I don't know," Ashley confessed. "I can do anything I want."
Once the thought crossed her mind, a sense of strength and thrill flooded throughout her body. Maybe now, things will change. This dark cloud that seems to hang over her every day may finally start to shift. At least that's what she hoped.
Friday, September 23rd
1:25 PM
Chaos took place in the hallway of Rockwood High. Lockers were being slammed, people were maneuvering around each other, each with their own agenda. Ashley hadn't been paying attention in any of her classes. Who could blame her? After discovering that she had an unlimited amount of power, everything seemed to matter less. Homework was forgotten, and being with her mother was a blur. She wasn't focused on anything other than an idea that took over her mind. She needed to practice using her abilities so she could get stronger. That way, she could have everything she ever wanted. Bend the world around her. Of course, Sam and Nathan were involved in this idea. She couldn't do any of this without them.
A boy in Ashley's math class was packing his books into his locker, minding his own business, listening to his music through his Bluetooth earphones. He wore glasses and had a full face of acne. An older student, Blake, firmly bumped shoulders with him. This knocked one of his earphones out, and it landed on the floor. He leaned down to retrieve it, but Blake had other plans. With the biggest smile on his face, he stomped onto the earphone, damaging it beyond repair.
"Oh no, Gale. Not your brand new Air Pods," Blake cackled with two of his offsiders.
This was it, the last straw. He'd had enough.
"You're such a jerk!" Gale shoved Blake firmly into the lockers across the hallway.
Blake's face turned red in a mix of anger and shock. Gale had never retaliated before.
"That's it, you pathetic piece of shit," Blake threatened.
He raised his right fist, ready to give Gale the worst black eye of his life. As he threw the punch, Ashley, with her mind, yanked his hand further left, missing Gale's face by a few inches. Ashley had yanked his hand hard enough for him to lose his balance and come crashing down hard. His face collided with the ground first while Gale took this opportunity to flee. He grabbed his bag and bolted for the exit. Blake's nose was bleeding substantially; it may have been broken even. When he sat up, confusion was plastered on his face. He never misses a punch, so for this to happen, it hurt his pride. The people who had gathered around to watch the show were just as shocked. Some stood there with their mouths hanging open, while others were giggling at him.
"What are you all looking at?" he shouted in rage.
He got to his feet and also fled the scene in a huff, only he didn't run as fast as Gale. Ashley's head spun for a moment, so she leaned against the wall beside her discreetly. Ashley had been toying with a few things here and there. She called it practicing, but really she was actually enjoying herself. Yesterday she dropped her toothbrush, and instead of bending over to retrieve it, she lifted it off the ground and placed it on the cupboard beside the sink. Quickly, she looked around to make sure that nobody had seen her. Nobody had. The second time she had used her powers was this morning. She was casually walking on a concrete pathway, staring down at the ground before her, minding her own business until her path was blocked by a dirty puddle. Instead of being the usual mundane human by walking around it, she extended her arm, palm facing the water, and separated the water in the middle. In doing so, she had created a narrow and dry section for her to walk through without getting her shoes wet at all. After walking through, she allowed the water to merge again, appearing as though nothing had occurred at all. Only now did she begin to wonder if there was anyone in her proximity. Ashley directed her gaze away from the footpath and searched the area for anyone that might have seen. A small blue Ford Escape passed by, but the driver appeared to be talking. There wasn't anyone else in the vehicle with her, so Ashley assumed that she was either singing along to some tunes or talking to someone over the phone. Either way, they hadn't seen anything.
Someone tapped Ashley on the shoulder from behind.
"Hey Ash," Sam made himself heard.
"Hi Sam," Ashley greeted him after turning around.
Sam wasn't looking at Ashley; instead, his gaze was lingering over her shoulder. He was assessing the situation that had occurred behind her. Once he had processed the previous events, a smile appeared on his face.
"You wouldn't have had anything to do with that, would you, Ash?" Sam smirked.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Sam." Ashley met his gaze with a mischievous grin. "Where's Nathan?"
"I'm not sure, he just sent me this five minutes ago." Sam handed her the phone.
Nathan: Meet me at the old school sports shed. Bring Ash with you.
"Hmm... I wonder what he wants." Ashley thought. "Do you think it's about..."
Ashley stopped talking suddenly and glanced around, deciding that she couldn't talk about her powers here. Not with this many people within earshot.
"About what?" Sam asked.
"Not here. Too many people," Ashley spoke quietly, almost in a whisper.
"Gotcha. Let's go then, we don't have much time before our lunch break is over."
Ashley and Sam arrived at the sports shed and spotted Nathan leaning up against the shed's side door, drawing in the smoke from his cigarette whilst staring down at his phone.
"We're here," Ashley announced.
"Yeah, and what's with the whole mysterious act?" Sam mocked.
Nathan brought his finger to his lips. "Shh..."
Both Ashley and Sam understood Nathan wasn't messing around. He wasn't his normal joking self. Ashley began feeling rather nervous, making her hands clammy and her heartbeat was a little faster. This wasn't normal behavior for Nathan; something was very wrong. Nathan grabbed hold of the padlock attached to the shed door.
"Ash," he looked toward her and indicated to the lock. "If you will."
It took Ashley a moment to realize that he wanted her to open it. Ashley gently pushed Nathan aside and grasped the padlock firmly in her hand. She closed her eyes and concentrated. She felt the inside of the lock with her mind. This particular lock encased four pins, each of them placed in their own unique positions. Ashley used her mind to delicately place the pins in their correct formation, then turned it to the left, as though she opened the lock with an invisible key. The lock unlatched, surprising Ashley a little.
"Nice," Sam commented.
Nathan was first to walk through the door to enter the shed; then the others followed close behind. Ashley's nerves were only exacerbated by the second. This more than likely had something to do with her and the powers she had attained. And this thought poisoned her mind; every breath she drew in sounded shaky, despite her attempts to hide it. She only hoped that the others hadn't noticed. Ashley didn't want her friends to think she was scared or weak, even though this year had been the second most fearful period of her life. Her father's death was rated as a fixed first place. Nothing can be more fearful than losing a close loved one.
"Guys, I think we're in trouble," Nathan whispered.
"In trouble?" Ashley said in the strongest voice she could manage.
Now the fear only grew. She was half expecting something else scary to happen. It appeared that her life, and the others', was growing more dangerous by the day.
"What kind of trouble, Nathan?" Sam quizzed him.
Sam appeared to be the most composed out of the three of them, which completely shocked Ashley. He stood there with his hands in his pockets, leaning up against the tin wall, chewing a piece of old gum that had lost its flavor ages ago.
"We're being followed, and by 'we,' I mean you, Ashley." Nathan turned toward Ashley.
Ashley swallowed hard. She knew that from the moment Nathan shushed them that what he was about to tell them was going to be bad. The problem with this information was that neither of them knew how bad the circumstances really were.
"Who do you think is following us?" Ashley asked.
"It could be anyone," Sam mentioned.
"I don't know but she was driving a blue Ford Escape. Um, her hair was black... that's really all I've got," Nathan confessed.
"Who would be watching me?" Ashley asked. "And why?"
"Think about it, Ash." Sam began. "You're the sole survivor of a tragic accident. Whoever is watching you is probably doing so because they know this. And to put it bluntly, that could be anyone."
That was true. Since the accident, reporters have been bothering Ashley's parents and other students from Rockwood High. Luckily for Ashley, her name wasn't mentioned on TV or anywhere else. But people find a way, and they have. Ashley would walk the halls, and the other kids would just stare, until Ashley's eyes met theirs; that's when they quickly looked in the other direction. As if it wasn't obvious what they were doing.
"Well, what do we do then?" Ashley asked.
"We lay low," Nathan told them in a hushed voice.
After school had finished, all three, Nathan, Sam, and Ashley, were heading toward Ashley's place. The sky was overcast and on the verge of raining; that would be nice considering it didn't rain that often in Rockwood. This always frustrated the farmers.
Other than a small "hello," the three of them hadn't really talked much at all. After they had discovered they were being followed, they were each feeling concerned and hypervigilant. Nathan was playing it off well by walking casually with his head buried in his phone, just like every other teen these days. Sam, however, was walking a little stiffly and he kept looking over his shoulder. Ashley was somewhere in the middle; she wasn't paranoid like Sam, but not as calm as Nathan. Her attention was on the ground again. This time the puddles had dried up, but she assumed they'd return soon.
"Okay, guys, don't panic…" Nathan began.
"Panic? Why would we be panicking?" Sam started questioning louder than he probably should have been.
"Shh…" Nathan glared at Sam.
"What is it?" Ashley whispered.
Her throat felt all dry and her hands were sweaty.
"It's her… the lady following us." Nathan continued to appear as though nothing was out of the ordinary.
"Where is she?" Sam spoke quickly.
Before Nathan was able to answer, the blue car drove past slowly and pulled over, winding the window down.
"Guys, what do we do?" Sam said with worry.
"Just keep walking." Ashley pretended to be brave when really, inside, she wanted to puke.
The others agreed to continue walking. Ashley's heart was pumping so hard that she could almost hear it. She was mentally preparing herself to use her powers, though she wasn't sure how much it would help considering the extent of her powers was still unknown. Would she be strong enough to even save herself, Sam, and Nathan against any potential threat heading their way? With each step, Ashley began to breathe heavier. They were almost level with the car. Only a few more steps. Suddenly, the window lowered slowly. Just keep walking, pretend to pay no attention. In her head, she repeated this mantra in an attempt to lower her anxiety. They were level with the lowered window.
"Excuse me." Her voice called from inside the car.
The three were clueless as to what approach they needed to execute. Nathan turned around and locked eyes with her. Sam and Ashley copied. Her hair was platinum blonde, slicked back behind her head in a low bun. Eyes, ocean blue with pale skin.
"The three of you haven't seen my Labrador roaming around the school, have you?"
"Uhh. No, sorry, we haven't," Nathan replied, calmly.
Ashley and Sam shook their heads, not trusting their nervous voices to speak. She went on to describe the appearance of "Bella" and that she was still a curious puppy. Maybe this wasn't someone stalking Ashley; she really could just be looking for her dog. Her friendly behavior seemed to be genuine. She was either friendly or very good at pretending to be so. Ashley could hear the radio, she assumed, mumbling away in the car, but couldn't make out what was being said. The tone sounded serious. After closer inspection of the car interior, Ashley noticed that the dialect wasn't coming from the radio at all. It was a walkie-talkie sitting on the passenger seat, half covered by a brown scarf. If only Ashley could hear what was being said, maybe then she could get confirmation whether this lady really was innocent or not. Wait a second. Ashley conjured an idea that could do just that. It was always harder to use her powers when her eyes weren't closed, but she needed this to work. The three of them did. Ashley felt the walkie-talkie with her mind, ran her "fingers" along its surface until she felt the volume dial. Time for the truth. With a shaky breath, Ashley turned it as loud as it could possibly go.
"Affirmative," a deep male voice became very audible. "She's conversing with the person of interest and two other students. Waiting confirmation from Vanessa for phase 2, but remember—"
The walkie-talkie was switched off. Ashley quickly shared glances with her closest friends, each of them frozen for a second. They must have been referring to the woman driving.
"You weren't supposed to hear that." Vanessa said with a sigh. She moved her scarf aside, and Ashley's stomach dropped. She had a taser.
"No one was supposed to get hurt today."
Sam's eyes went wider than they already were, Nathan drew in a sharp breath, and Ashley urgently screamed, "Run!"