Power Holders

The Power Holders

Prologue:

A girl was walking on the side of the highway. She wore jeans, and a dark, navy blue hoodie, with the hood covering her face. A single strand of hair could be seen. Cars zipped by without paying any attention. A gold mini-van drove by, and if you looked closely, it had a bumper sticker that had the initials; S. A. L. P. H. The girl looked up and smiled. “We meet at last,” she whispered. She took a deep breath and vanished. If you looked closely, you would see a tyto abla, or barn owl, flying in the direction of the car. It flew at top speed for a few minutes, but the owl could not catch the car. Suddenly, the owl vanished, and a chestnut horse could be seen running among the cars. Most of the drivers didn’t notice, but a few slowed down to get a better look. The chestnut galloped through the traffic and reached the car within a few minutes. It made a great leap, but before it landed, it turned into an owl. It landed on the car and took firm grip of its new perch. Most owls don’t grin, but this one did. It grinned as the car drove on, not noticing its new rider.

Chapter 1: Meet Lily

“Cody!” called Lily. “I need you to model for me!”  A little Fawn pug walked into the bedroom and jumped onto the bed. “Alright Cody,

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I need to take a picture.” Cody cocked his head as Lily grabbed a camera. “All right boy, I need you to roll over, come on! Roll over!” Lily made a rotating motion with her finger and the pug began to roll over. “Freeze!” she yelled and Cody froze halfway through his flip, his paws sticking up in the air. “Good boy! Now, who wants a bacon strip?” When she said this, Cody’s eyes widened, so the white could be seen, and his tongue came out just a little bit. Lily’s camera snapped and Cody rolled back over. “Perfect,” she whispered, as she looked at her camera. She went over and grabbed a notebook and pencil. She lay back on the bed, and began to draw the picture from her camera. Cody came over and sniffed her shirt, as if she were hiding a bacon strip in it. “Sorry boy. I don’t have any.” Cody whimpered and laid his head on her lap, watching her draw the picture.

 How should I describe Lily? Warm. Everything about her was warm. Her hair was like melted caramel, mostly of brown, but sort of blonde, and smelled like cinnamon. Her eyes were like melted chocolate, and she had a spray of freckles across her nose. She wore dark jeans, and a gray hoodie that had uneven straps, and said: “ST. Thomas More University.” That was the name of the school her older sister went to. Lily was thirteen years old, and had an older sister in

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college. Her skin seemed soft and her cheeks were light pink. Everything about her made you want to hug her.

Lily liked to think while she drew. The soft sound the pencil made, and the quiet breath of Cody was comforting. Her pencil made a wide stroke, and then a few little ones. She was in the middle of a thought when she was interrupted by a shout, “Lily!” her mother called, “five minutes until piano practice! You better be dressed!” “Yes mom!” Lily called back. Luckily, she had already changed. She continued to draw, and thought about how much she hated deadlines. Lily wished that she could do whatever she felt like. Like, if she was in the mood for piano one day, she could just walk over and do it. Or, if she felt like drawing, she would just sit down and draw. But deadlines are one of those things you can’t avoid. Her thoughts were interrupted by Cody, who had got bored of just sitting there. Cody jumped off the bed, and put his head down and rear up, with his stubby little tail wagging. Lily laughed, and jumped of the bed. As she played with Cody, she thought to herself how much she knew him. She could almost feel herself in his “shoes”. Every bit of fur, every part of his body, she felt herself become more and more dog like. It wasn’t until she heard herself bark that she realized what had happened. She gave a gasp, and watched as her paws

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turned back into hands. Paws? She thought, did I really just have paws? She sat there for a moment, gasping and sweating, as she stared at her hands. Cody gave her a confused look, as if pondering the same question. “LILY!!! It’s time to go!!” her mom’s calls woke her out of her trance. She grabbed her bag and gave Cody a pat on the head. She walked out, lost in a world of thought. 

As she sat in the back seat of her mom’s minivan, she thought about the strange event that had happened only a few moments ago. She stared at her hand, as if it were suddenly going to turn into a dog’s paw. Maybe I can do it again. She thought. She once again imagined herself as a pug, but this time, she only imagined the paw. She thought about every muscle, piece of fur, and joint in the paw. She imagined what it would feel like if her hand turned into a paw. How it would be to walk on it, jump on it, and sleep on it. She watched as her hand grew fur, and slowly changed into a paw.  She gave a gasp, and instantly it turned back. She turned her hand over, as a plan formed in her head.

Chapter 2: Cody’s conversation

Lily took a deep breath. She had spent every afternoon in her room, practicing her shape-shifting for this very moment. She was on her hands and knees, facing Cody. Then, she imagined herself as a pug,

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once again thinking of every last detail of a pug’s features. Her hands grew fur, her ears grew longer, and slowly, she took on the look of a pug. Cody gave a gasp. Gasp? She thought. Cody continued to stare at her for a few moments, then, all of a sudden, she heard Cody, speaking in perfect English. “Foul, vile, evil creature! What have you done with master?” Cody snarled, his hair standing on end. Lily laughed “It’s me! Lily!!” The whites of Cody’s eyes showed. He began to run in circles. “Oh joy! Now I can tell you everything I have always wanted to tell you!” Cody seemed to have forgotten that people usually didn’t turn into pugs. In fact, he seemed to forget everything. “I must ask you two questions! Two questions!” Lily laughed, and sat down. “First! I demand Bacon strips! You and master eat three times! But I only get two!” Lily was about to protest, when Cody continued, obviously excited. “Second! Together, we shall kill all the squirrels of the world!” “Squirrels? Of all things you ask me to kill Squirrels?” “Yes! They are foul, vile, evil, little creatures bent on destroying everything!!!” Lily just stared. Her Pug was obviously messed up to think that squirrels were evil.  Suddenly, Cody’s fur bristled. Lily’s fur stood up too. Cody’s head turned slightly, then, like lighting, he started running in circles, chasing his tail and saying, “Squirrel! Evil little Squirrel! Evil! Evil! Vile! Nasty little squirrel! Die die die die!!” he chased his tail for a few minutes, and

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then lay down, painting so hard his tongue stuck out. “I got it! I chased that squirrel away!” Lily didn’t know what was stranger, the fact that she could understand her dog, or what her dog was saying.  “Ok then….” “Wait! I am not done!” “But you said…” “I must warn you that another vile creature lives in our house! One that makes loud noises, and eats everything in its path!!” “You mean the vacuum cleaner.” “No. I prefer to call it… “The Destroyer” has a nice ring to it huh?” Lily was about to respond, when she heard her mom’s voice calling, “Lily! I’m coming up to get your laundry!” “I have to go. I can’t let mom see me.” Cody said “Farewell master! May you conquer many squirrels!” Lily took a deep breath, and transformed back into a human just before her mom opened the door.

Chapter 3 Meet Audrey

Audrey screamed into her pillow. Anger swelled deep within her. She hated all those mean girls. She hated how they called her “four eyes” and “the blonde nerd”. She was sick of school, and everyone there. She lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Why does the world hate me? she thought. Mittens, her black cat, jumped on her bed and curled up by her side. “At least you don’t hate me,” she said. She scratched Mittens behind the ear, and she gave a good long purr. She

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was lying there, staring at the ceiling, when her phone made a buzzing sound. Mittens jumped up and leaped off the bed at the sudden noise. Audrey checked her phone. “Two new messages.” It said.  She flipped open her phone and read:

Dear Jessica,

  R u going 2 Hannah’s prty Fri nit?

          ~Mackenzie

Dear Audrey,

   Oops! Sry, wrong #

               ~Mackenzie

Audrey threw her phone across the room.  She knew Mackenzie. The text was NOT an accident. She had sent it just to rub things in. She tried to hold back tears. She stared at the water glass on her bed side, as if hoping it would explode. As she glared at the glass, she thought of every mean thing they had said to her. She stared so hard, that things seemed to blur, and a second layer seemed to be around the cup. Invisible hands seemed to reach out, and grab the cup. Suddenly, the glass tipped over, and Audrey gave a little scream. Did I just do that?

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She thought. Did I just push over the cup by staring at it? She told herself that it had only been the wind, but another part of her said that she had done it.

Audrey took a deep breath. She had taken a small earring, and put it on the dresser a few feet away from her bed. Mittens gave her a confused look, as Audrey stared at the earring. She tried to think of nothing but that one earring. Focus. She said. Concentrate. She stared so hard that a second layer formed around the earring, and her invisible hands once more reached out. She made the hands grasp the earring, and put it on the other side of the dresser. She watched as, slowly, the earring rose, and moved to the other side. When the earring dropped down, she jumped up and grabbed it. She stared at the earring in amazement. I just lifted an earring.  That was her last thought before she crumpled to the ground in a dead faint.

When Audrey awoke, she jumped up and looked at the clock. I’ve been out for ten minutes! she thought. She was suddenly aware of how much she was sweating. Calm down, She thought. We will figure this all out later. But right now you need to calm down. She sat back on the bed, where her concerned looking cat was lying. She took out her laptop, where she began typing away at her story. Writing always

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seemed to make her feel better. As she typed, she began to tell Mittens about the new things she was going to do in her book. “So you see Mittens, my new character, Mary, is going to…” or “do you think I should kill this character?” or “I think these two would make the perfect couple!” and so forth. As she wrapped up the next chapter of her book, she began to think about her new found powers. Maybe, she thought. I can find a way to get Mackenzie back.

Chapter 4  Audrey’s revenge

Audrey’s heart pumped. I only have one shot at this, she thought.  She had finally found a way to embarrass Mackenzie without hurting her. She had stationed herself at the perfect spot, right underneath a loose water pipe. Her school had lots of water pipes running across the ceiling, and she had finally found the one with a loose screw. She had spent many mornings, practicing her ability, and even passed out a couple of times. She leaned against the wall, pretending to be absorbed in her writing. “Hey, four eyes!” called a voice. Mackenzie doesn’t know what’s coming, she thought. She tried her best to act innocent. “What’s wrong Mackenzie?” “What’s wrong?” Mackenzie sniggered. “Four eyes, you’re the one who’s clouding up my designer perfume with whatever stuff YOU use.” Her “friends” giggled, as if this was the smartest remark

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they’d ever heard. “Call me four eyes again and you’ll get it,” replied Audrey. Mackenzie’s friends whistled. “What did you just say sweetie?” Mackenzie said coldly. “I said, call me four eyes again and you’ll get it.” Mackenzie smiled. “What are you going to do four eyes?  You can’t hurt me.” Audrey smiled. This is it. She said. She looked up, and at least twenty invisible hands reached out, and pulled out the loose screw. The pipes burst, and a stream of water came pouring onto Mackenzie and her friends. “NO!!! I JUST GOT MY HAIR DONE!!!” she cried. Audrey walked away, grinning to herself as the janitor came rushing in to fix the mess.

Chapter 5: Meet Ethan

In a basement under a little house, a band was playing. Drums blared, guitars played, and the voice of a teenage boy seemed to vibrate the whole house.

“You could paint a picture, write a song, nothing you could ever do, could ever go wrong,

Sing a tune, or juuuuust play, anything you do, will make my day,

No need for makeup, don’t cover up, nothing you could do, could ever go wrong…”

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“Stop!” Ethan cried, “Stop one second!” The band stopped and the last note seemed to still drift in the air. “Drake, wonderful job with the drums, but I think we could speed things up. Jake! That was wonderful bass playing, keep it up. Josh, I need a little more emotion from you. You got to really MEAN what you sing. You’re telling the girl of your dreams that she is beautiful, and should never change and that everything she does is perfect. I need you to really picture that. Now let’s try again….” “Sorry Ethan, I have soccer practice at two,” said Jake. “Sorry! I wasn’t looking at the clock. Ok, let’s meet back here tomorrow. Same time. Same place.” The band began to pack up their things, but the lead singer, Josh, got up and walked over to Ethan. “Thanks for the help Ethan,” said Josh. “No problem Josh. I really think we have a shot at this talent show thing,” said Ethan “We might,” replied Josh.

Ethan was lead guitarist in the band, “The Flying Monkeys” which was a country band that he had started.  They had been practicing day in and day out for the school’s big talent show, and Ethan was very excited. He carried his guitar up the stairs, humming the tune to “Nothing”.  

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Ethan didn’t know it, but he was VERY good looking. He had almost white, blonde hair, and icy blue eyes that were partly covered by his bangs. He was sixteen years old, and he was very shy, humble, and loved music. He wore jeans, and a plaid blue shirt. He never seemed to notice that every girl he talked to blushed. 

The thought of the talent show was still on his mind at dinner time. “Are you not hungry?” his mom asked. “Sorry, I just can’t stop thinking about the school talent show.” His mom sighed, and then looked at her husband. “Should we tell him?” she asked, with a smile. “I don’t see why not,” he replied. Ethan gave his parents a confused look. “Your uncle called. He wants us to come and visit.” Ethan smiled. “You mean Uncle Richard? The best story teller in the world?” “The one and only,” his father replied. When Ethan was young, his uncle used to visit all the time, but then he had moved to Alaska. He had not seen him in seven years. “Is it true that he has a dog sled?” he asked “Yes! I believe He even mentioned ice fishing,” his father replied. Ethan took a big bite of mashed potatoes as he thought about meeting his uncle again.

Chapter 6  Too late

          What seemed like thousands of miles of ocean could be seen passing by through Ethan’s window. He sat with his head pressed

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against it, listening to music on his iPod.  He tapped his finger to the beat, as he mouthed the words to his song. “Ethan.” His mom said, tapping his shoulder. “Sorry!” he replied, pulling out one ear bud.   “Would you like a drink?” she asked. A stewardess stood by their seats, pushing a cart of beverages. “I’ll take a coke please,” he said. The stewardess handed him the drink, and went on to the next person. Ethan opened the can and looked out the window again. In his mind, nothing could possibly go wrong. He was on his way to see his uncle, and when he got back, it would be almost time for the talent show. He took a sip from his drink, and put his ear bud back in, not knowing how wrong he was.

          As he leaned over the hole, he saw a few fish swim by. His uncle had taken him and his parents out to the fishing hole by dog sled. A couple of huskies barked behind him. “Careful laddie,” his uncle said. “If you fall in there’s no coming out. It’s freezing cold, and this is the only hole for miles.” Ethan nodded and backed away a bit. Visiting his uncle had been very exciting. He had gone sledding, saw caribou, and even spotted a polar bear once. His uncle took out a fishing pole, and began to bait it. While his uncle was getting the pole ready, Ethan looked over

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again. A huge fish swam by. “Uncle! Look at that one!” he said. “Laddie! That’s a little to close!”

Too late. Ethan fell into the freezing cold water. Darkness covered him. He felt like he was being jabbed with a hundred knives. His mom’s calls grew faint, as he was swept far away from his hole. Panic rose in him. He wanted to scream, to swim back, to do anything but be pushed away from the hole. Suddenly, the pain left him, and he stopped moving. He opened his eyes, and saw that he could see. He looked up to the ice above him, and hit it with his fist. “Bang!” A few cracks appeared, “Bang!” the ice split, “bang!” The solid ice broke open, and he lifted himself out of the water.

          Looking back, he could never remember what happened. Sounds seemed to melt around him. His vision was blurry. He could vaguely remember being hugged by his mom. Cries and voices seemed to fade as the world turned to darkness.

          “I don’t understand. How could he have survived?” said a trembling voice. When Ethan awoke, he found himself sitting in his bed back at his uncle’s house. Everything was the exact same, except that he had extra blankets, pillows, and a fire was roaring. A mug of cocoa was on his bedside table. He sat up, so as to hear the conversation

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between the two men better. A gruff voice came from the door. “The better question is, how did he break that ice? It must have been several feet deep. And ever stranger, the cracks in the ice formed the shape of a…..” the voice died out. “Doctor, I believe the boy is awake.”  The door opened, and a doctor in a white coat and a large man in a black suit came in. “Hello son,” said the man in black with a gruff voice. “I believe you will be staying with me for a while.”

          Ethan got into the man’s car. He had no idea where this man was taking him, all he knew was that this man was obviously very important. “Where are you taking me? Where is my family?” he demanded. “Don’t worry. They are safe and sound. As for you, my boss wishes to speak with you.” Ethan sat in silence. Why would he want to talk to me? He thought. Then he remembered what the doctor had said. “How could he have survived?” Suddenly he got an idea. He opened his hand, and a layer of ice began to form around it. “Just as I thought,” said the man in black with a crooked smile.

          Chapter 7 Meet Diego

Diego paced back and forth in his room, as Spanish rock music blared from his stereo. Diego couldn’t stand still. He took off his hat and fiddled with it. It was his favorite hat. It was wide rimmed, with the logo

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of “lobos”, his favorite soccer team, on it. Chico looked out of his cage, as if trying to figure out what was wrong. Chico was a short hair calico hamster, with a black blotch around his eye. He gave a little squeak, and ran over to his wheel. Diego laughed. “Silly hamster,” he said. “Diego!” His mother called “la cena está lista! I made your favorite! Calabacitas!” Diego managed a nervous smile. “Coming Madre!” He called back. He put his cap back on and ran down the stairs.

          Diego lived in New Mexico. He had dark skin, dark eyes, and a mess of curly black hair. He had just turned nine, and was pretty small for his age. Diego’s family was very sporty. His older brothers and sisters were soccer players, but he always preferred running. Diego had been training for many months for the big race at the New Mexico summer fiesta that was to be held the next day.

          Diego pushed the piece of Calabacitas to the corner of his plate. “What’s wrong?” his mother asked. “I guess I’m just not hungry.” He replied. “Come on.” Said his father. “You’re going to need the strength for the big race tomorrow.” Diego blinked, and then began trying to stuff as much food as he could into his mouth. “Whoa, whoa, slow down! You’re going to get a stomach ache!” cried his dad. Diego set down his fork. “Sorry. I guess I’m just a little nervous.” His mother

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sighed. “Diego, mi hijo, don’t worry. You will do great.” Diego frowned. “I know I’m probably not going to get first, but what if I end up DEAD last?” “But you won’t.” She replied. “I know, but let’s say for the moment that I DID. Then...” “We would still be proud of how hard you have worked for this.” Diego sighed. “Ok Madre.” He said, realizing that it was no use arguing. He took a bite of his dinner, while his mind continued to come up with random worst-case scenarios.

Chapter 8 The Race

Diego took a deep breath. He bent over and touched his toes. He stretched his legs and jogged in place. Diego glanced nervously at the other competitors lined up beside him. They all looked fast, but number 15 looked like she could be a problem. Diego took another deep breath. Every nerve in his body seemed to be going haywire. Diego wasn’t wearing his hat, so he fiddled with his “NUMBER 7” tag instead. Today they were only doing four laps, about four miles. That was a short distance for him, but that meant he was going to have to run faster than normal. Diego looked over at the stands. His family waved and cheered, and two of his brothers had made a sign that said, “NUMBER SEVEN ROCKS!” in big red letters. Diego smiled nervously, and returned

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his attention to the track. The announcer’s words seemed to fade as the track became clearer.

          Suddenly, a gun shot rang clear through the air. He took off, a majority of the competitors ahead of him. He ran, making wider strides than normal. He passed number 8 and 12 with ease. Sweat began to form on his forehead. He pushed on a little farther, and passed 9, 4, and 11. He tried to push un-encouraging thoughts out of his head, as he began to go around the curve. He watched as 11 began to catch up. Diego shook his head. What was he doing? He had worked so hard for this, and he was letting this skinny kid pass him? He lowered his head and pushed on. He passed by 6, 1, and 2. Now he only had to pass 3 and 15. Sweat started blurring his vision. His legs ached. A stich started forming in his side. He knew he had pushed himself too hard, and he still had three more laps! He looked ahead. First place was so close, yet so far. What am I thinking? He thought. I can pass those guys. He leaned forward, and pushed a little harder. Number 3 came closer and closer, and Diego finally passed him. He looked ahead. Number 15 was only a few yards away. He poured all his strength into his strides. His legs ached, his side hurt, and sweat covered his body, but none of this          

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mattered anymore. He was only a few yards away from first. He closed his eyes, and pushed as hard as he could. When he opened his eyes, he found he had passed 15. Diego straightened up. He had done it! He was in first! He was ahead of some of the best runners in New Mexico! He felt happiness cover him from head to toe. All the pain in his body seemed to leave him, and he felt like he could run a marathon. He took another stride, and the whole world seemed to become a blur.

          Diego had only enough time to blink, when he found himself on the finish line. He looked around. Where was he? He looked ahead and saw that all the competitors had stopped, and were staring at him. “Did I... Did I just run a lap?” he asked “No.” said number 15, her mouth open wide. “You just ran four.”

          Diego didn’t have time to reply, because at that moment two men in black suits and dark shades stood up and started walking toward him. Diego took a step back, and was surprised to find his bare feet touch the ground. He lifted his shoe, and gasped when he saw that the bottom of his shoes were nothing more than a puddle of melted goo, with a few wisps of smoke that smelled like burning rubber. When

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Diego looked up, he saw the men in black looming over him. “Hello,” said one. “I believe you will be riding with us.”

                    It suddenly occurred to Diego that he had probably broken the speed limit. “Am I in trouble? Will I get a speeding ticket?” he asked. The men laughed. “Now THAT’S a new one!” roared one. “Speeding ticket. Beautiful,” chuckled the other. Diego gave them a confused look. “Than what DID I do?” He asked. “Nothing,” Replied the First, “my boss just wishes to speak to you.”

Chapter 9 Meet Chris

Chris turned onto Applewood lane. He looked at his watch. “I’m going to be late,” he mumbled. He looked ahead at Salach road. I could take a short cut through Salach, he thought. He looked at his watch again. He sighed, and shifted his skateboard onto Salach road.

          Chris was sixteen, and rather tall and had dark hair swept to one side.  His eyes were a fiery green that had a hint of yellow in the middle. He was a humorous, swagger kid, who loved cracking jokes. He had

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been hanging out with his buddies at the skate park, and was now heading home for dinner.

“Come on,” he whispered, “I can’t be late again.” The city streets became less and less crowded, and the buildings became shabbier and shabbier. He looked nervously behind his back. This place was creeping him out. He kept looking ahead for the next turn, but couldn’t see it.  He passed by a couple run down shops and alleys, but he still couldn’t see the next turn.

          Suddenly, he felt his skateboard hit something, and he went flying into the pavement. He hit the ground face first, and his nose broke. Blood flowed down his face, as he heard laughter behind him. He looked up, and saw six teens circled around him.  “Well, well, well. Let’s see what we got here.”

          Two of the guys grabbed his arms, as the tallest one, who was obviously their leader, opened his backpack and started to rummage through it. He threw his water bottle behind his back, along with a few other bits of trash. “Junk. Junk. IPod. Junk. Apple core. Chip bag. Junk…” he continued to rummage through his bag, until he pulled out Chris’s wallet. “Here we are!” he exclaimed, as he pulled out a wad of dollars. Please don’t look in the front pouch. Please don’t look in the front

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pouch…. “What’s this?” he said with a smile. He opened the front pouch, reveling Chris’s IPhone “An IPhone! I don’t believe you will be needing to call anyone, anytime soon. He grinned, and smashed the phone against the brick wall of the ally, followed by laughter from his comrades. In his anger, Chris kicked the guy next to him right between his legs. He turned around, and gave his other captor a bloody nose. He surged at their leader, but was seized by two more guys. They pinned him against the wall, this time, making sure to keep his legs secure. Their leader shrugged, as if nothing had happened, and continued to put Chris’s wallet into his pocket.  He stuffed all the trash back into the bag, and threw it at Chris’s feet. “Here,” he said, as if it was the most casual thing in the world. “Release him.” One of the guys next to him punched him in the gut, knocking all the wind out of him and the two guys holding him let go. Chris fell to the ground, his nose still bleeding, as the teenage boys laughed. “Come on guys,” said their leader. “We’ve got things to do.” Chris felt anger boiling up in him. He could almost feel his palms warming. Their laughter seemed to throb in his ears. His hands became hotter and hotter.

          He suddenly realized that there really WAS something in his hands. He opened them, and the world seemed too become a fiery

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furnace. When the fire died down, he saw that the teenage boys had taken cover behind a trash bin, which was almost completely melted.

          Chris stood in shock at the melted plastic. He probably could have stood there all day, but just then one of the thieves tried to make a run for it. “Stop!” he called with a sudden surge of confidence.  “I want you all on your knees with your hands on your heads.” He held out one hand Iron-man style, acting as if he knew what he was doing. Slowly, each of the teenage boys got on their knees and put their hands on their heads. “Alright, I want my stuff back,” he said. The lead kid reached for his pocket and pulled out Chris’s wallet. “That wasn’t just any old iPhone. That was the newest generation. I will be needing something to pay for another.” The lead kid growled, and pulled out his own wallet and tossed it and Chris’s at his feet. Chris felt himself grin seeing the tall, muscular college-age kids with their hands on their heads in front of him.  He was so busy trying to think of a way to call 911 without a phone that he didn’t notice there was someone behind him until a large hand came to rest on his shoulder. “I think it’s time we took over son.”

          Chris turned, and saw a man with dark skin, a black suit and wrap-around spy glasses. His buddy, a bald man with the same outfit, came

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up and began handcuffing the thieves and putting them into his car.  The man gripped Chris’s shoulder. “Come with me,” he said simply. “No officer! I’m not with these guys! You see, I was jumped, and…” “We understand,” replied the man. “My boss just wants to have a little word with you.”

          Millions of questions floated around Chris’s head. Who are these guys? Why do they want me? Did I really just shoot fire out of my hands? he thought. He got in the back of the man’s car in complete silence, questions still bursting to get out. He sat there, in the back seat, with his head pressed against the window, as he remembered how he was able to melt the bins with his anger. Is this permanent? Will I be able control it? Or will I end up like the hulk? The thought of him turning into a giant green flaming monster made him laugh. He sat, watching the buildings pass, as he thought about how late he was going to be for dinner.

CHAPTER 10: The S.A.L.P.H.

Chris didn’t remember falling asleep, but when he woke, they were driving on a dirt road through the woods. Chris bolted up and demanded, “How long was I asleep?!” “Morning,” replied the man. “About eleven hours or so.” Chris’s heart fell through his shoes. He realized that he was probably hundreds of miles away from home, in some stranger’s car. Just because some dude is wearing a suit doesn’t mean that he is actually a…a………. A thought dawned on him. “Who exactly do you work for?” he asked “The S.A.L.P.H.” said the man dryly.  Chris’s head burst with questions. “What does the S.A.L.P.H stand for?” he finally decided. “Secret Agency of Location of Power Holders. We keep a tap on power holders.” Chris thought for a minute. “What’s a power holder?” he asked. The man said nothing, so he decided to switch questions. “Who’s your boss?” he asked. The man in black shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “That information is highly classified,” he said. Chris decided that he wasn’t going to get any more useful information out of him, so he laid his head against the window.

          Chris watched miles and miles of trees fly past. The dirt road seemed to get smaller and smaller, and would occasionally fade altogether. He wished he still had his iPhone so that he could listen to music.  Chris’s thoughts where interrupted by a voice, “We’re here,” said the man in black. 

          The one-story building stood alone in the vast forest. Chris expected the S.A.L.P.H. building to look like some secret agent building with finger print coded locks, but it was nothing like that at all. It looked like an ordinary work building with a parking lot wrapped around it. The parking lot was full of the strangest assortment of cars. Truck, vans, sports cars, and ordinary work cars stood parked right along with the black official looking cars. Chris thought he even saw one of those miniature cars….what where they? Smart cars. The man in black parked them between a white pickup truck and a big red van, and led him inside the building.

          The inside was just like the outside, because it looked like a normal work place. It had a front desk, waiting room, and people milling around with cups of coffee and paperwork. The only odd thing was that everyone was dressed in impeccable black suits and wrap-around glasses. The man in black walked up to the man at the front desk and produced a file. He whispered something about “power holders” and the man gave him a nod. Chris tried his best to map where they went. He vaguely got that they were curving around some giant room in the heart of the S.A.L.P.L.H, but it was hard to tell with all the winding hallways, rooms, and file cabinets. He remembered walking past a room with everyday objects like books, shoes and backpacks put in clear containers, and being examined like alien artifacts. Finally, they reached what Chris decided was the top of the octagon. The man in black knocked nervously at the door. “COME IN!!” boomed a voice. The man opened the door cautiously and gestured for Chris to go in first. Thanks, mouthed Chris sarcastically. The room was rather large, and on the left side, there was a long desk that stretched from one side to the other, with six or seven big leather chairs in front of it. Above the desk, hanging on the wall was hundreds of computer screens of different shape and size. Some of them seemed to have some sort of sonar device running, and some of them showed maps or documents. On the right side of the room there was a thick metal door that looked like it could withstand an atomic bomb. Right in front of him was a desk and behind the desk was what Chris assumed was the boss. At least, he looked like one. He wore the exact same outfit as everybody else, except it looked more professional on him. He had an aurora of confidence, and a look that said, “I don’t care who you are. I outsmart you.” He seemed so intimidating, that the man next to him began to fidget. “Uh…Mr... I MEAN boss….” The boss glared at him for almost giving away his name, and then turned and smiled dryly at Chris, who looked at the ground to avert his gaze. “Good morning Mr. Hughes.  Did you have a nice drive?” Chris was taken aback at this stranger saying his last name. “Uhhh…thanks?”  The boss smiled, as if intimidating people was his favorite game. “Good. Don’t worry; I know what you’re thinking. We have already contacted your parents and explained everything.” “Explained what?” Chris stammered. The boss just smiled and gave a wistful wave. “You will know soon.” He then turned to the man in black and said, “You are dismissed.” The man opened his mouth as if to say something, but changed his mind and said, “Yes boss.” He left mumbling something about “rarity of power holders” and “promotions”.

          Chris stood awkwardly under the man’s gaze. He wondered if he could turn invisible, or even better, teleport. “Mr. Hughes,” he began. “I bet you are wondering why I brought you here,” Chris wanted to say well duh, but instead he went with “Yes sir.” The boss smiled. Chris was starting to hate that smile. “You see Mr. Hughes, since the beginning of time, there have been things we can’t explain. What about those legends and fairy tales you hear of?” he asked. “Those are power holders, popping up every couple generations or so.” The boss leaned in closer. “How come you don’t know this?” he asked. Chris took a step back. This dude was freaking him out. “ummm…” “Because of us!” the boss interrupted. “Why do you care about power holders so much?” Chris asked. “Because they hold power,” he replied. “Have you heard of Hitler? You probably have. Strong power holder he was. Used the power of brainwashing to wipe out most of Europe. How about the San Francisco earthquake? 1906? Caused by power holder not much older then you are.” The boss leaned in closer. “You’re dangerous kid. You could be the cause of the apocalypse for all we know. That’s why we got to keep a close eye on you.” Chris began inching toward the door. “Yep. Got it. I’ll stay out of trouble. No flaming trash bins. Good. Nice talking to and all but I’m kinda late for…” Chris turned around and sprinted to the door, only to run into two agents coming in. “Sorry kid. Like I said, you’re too dangerous to let loose. Don’t worry, you’re going to have a lot of fun here at the S.A.L.P.H.”

Chapter 11: Forever

If they had an award for “weirdest and most sucky day” Chris would win by a landslide. He had no clue where he was, or why these guys thought he was so dangerous. He just wanted to go back to his little apartment in New York. The S.A.L.P.H. agents had to drag him through the big metal door, kicking and yelling some rather unflattering things. They tossed him and slammed the door shut. Chris banged on the door in frustration. When he turned around, he saw quite a surprising sight.

The room was large, in an octagon shape, with big garage doors on six of its sides. In the middle of the room was an L-couch, a recliner, a large TV, a coffee table, and a mini fridge with a microwave. Lounging on the L-couch were four teenage guys, who had apparently been watching Chris with amusement “Hi,” said one of them. “Sup,” Chris replied casually, as if they weren’t in the heart of a giant secret agent building in the middle of nowhere. “You guys power holders too?” he asked. “Yea,” replied the one glumly. The four of them seemed gloomy and tired, as if everything bored them. Chris hated to think of how he might look soon. “Welcome aboard,” said the one. He stood up and shook Chris’s hand. He seemed the least sad, and definitely had that aurora of leadership. “The name’s Matt,” he said. “And these are Toby, Alex, and Dakota,” he continued, gesturing to the three guys on the couch. “The name’s Chris,” Chris replied. “You guys live here?” he asked. “Sort of.” Replied the one that was Alex. “We were forced to live here by the S.A.L.P.H.” said Matt. “Isn’t that illegal?” asked Chris. Matt shook his head. “Quite the opposite. Government law says that power holders must be kept in custody.” Chris looked around at the room. “This doesn’t look like a jail,” he said. “Looks can be deceiving,” sighed Matt. He looked around at the place. “It’s supposed to be a home, but it’s definitely a jail. They lock you up and tell you lies. Lies about how you’re dangerous, inhuman, a freak,” Matt’s eyes seemed full of sorrow and hate. Chris felt bad for him, but also a little scared. “I thought that power holders came every generation or so?” he asked. “Normally one every hundred years. But the last few years has been different,”  an awkward silence covered the room. So Chris decided to move to a friendlier topic “So, power holders Huh? Want can you guys do?” Matt smiled, the angry, twisted look in his eyes faded. “Let me show you,” he said.

Chris finally got to get a proper look at each of them. Matt was rather tall, with Carmel brown hair and eyes that seemed to change color every second, from brown to green to blue to gray. The more that he looked at him, the more assured he was that he was the leader. The guy named Toby wore dark clothes, and had dark hair and pale skin. He was definitely the gloomiest of the group. His eyes were deep silver. He kinda looked like one of those Goth kids at school. Alex had a football player look, with tousled brown hair and melted chocolate brown eyes. He kinda had a scruffy look to him. Dakota looked exactly like some lifeguard surfer dude. He was huge, with ripped arms. He wore a muscle shirt and surfer shorts. He had a deep tan and sandy blonde hair. They all seemed to smile a bit more when they looked at Chris, except Toby of course. 

“I would go first,” said Dakota, “except there is nothing for me to work with in here.” He said. “He can control earth.” Said Matt. “Rocks, and stuff…” “Well, we don’t know all of what I can do. I was found pretty much right after I discovered my powers.”  Chris nodded. “How about you?” he nodded to Alex. “Weapon summoning.” He said slyly. He held out his hand, and a knife literally came out of it. It seemed to be as if he was being stabbed from the inside out, except it didn’t bleed at all. It was hard to tell exactly what happened because it happened so quickly, but it did sounded kinda like it was being pulled out of a scabbard. “Sweet huh?” he said. “Sweet? That was awesome! Can you do it with bigger swords or guns?” he asked. “Sure! But it’s harder. The bigger and more powerful a weapon the harder it is to summon. Plus I kinda prefer swords.” He twirled the knife around in his hand and nodded at Toby. “Show him the thing,” he said. Toby sighed and pulled out what looked like a quarter, except it had a shinier look to it “I can control certain metals, like a magnet. I disguised a bit of metal to look like a quarter,” he said.  He tossed it in the air, where it hovered and began to change shape until it was a knife, exactly like Alex’s. Chris laughed. “Now you two can have sword fights.” Toby gave him a gloomy look, sighed, and put the metal, which was now a quarter, back in his pocket. “How about you?” he asked, turning to Matt. “What can you do?” “I can read minds,” he said simply.

“You mean like, mind tricks?” he asked. “No,” replied Matt.
“I can actually read minds.” “Ok then, what number am I thinking of?” Matt thought for a second before saying “You aren’t actually thinking of a number, you’re thinking about last Sunday’s football game and how you are going to say incorrect to whatever number I say.” Chris took a few steps back, his mouth open in shock. “I..uh…” Matt gazed at him with sad eyes. “That’s not all I can do.” He closed his eyes again. Hi Chris, he heard in his head. Chris stumbled back into the coffee table with a yelp. “Get out!” he yelled, putting his hands over his ears. Matt went red in the face, “sorry man…” he said. “sorry,” said Chris quickly, “you just surprised me.” He wiped the sweat of his forehead. Matt looked at the ground. “No I’m sorry. Your mind’s a personal place. It’s just… it’s been so long since we’ve gotten to meet someone new,” he said. Chris frowned. “How long have you guys been here?” he asked. “I was the first, so I would say about two years,” Chris thought he was going to have a panic attack. “Two YEARS?!” he yelled. “How long are we supposed to BE here!?” “Forever,” Replied Matt.

Chapter 12

Lily listened as the stone she had kicked pattered against the rocky path. The crisp, fall air nipped at her cheeks. She lifted her nose to sniff, and smelled the familiar horsy aroma. During the weeks after her conversation with Cody, she had taken to seeing how many other animals she could do. The thing she found was that the better she knew the animal, the easier it was to become it. She had already gotten her pug down perfectly, and she now wanted to try something a little larger. She could begin to see the old barn now. It was very old, with its rusty red paint chipping off in many places. “This is the perfect spot for practice!” she said to herself. Her cousin’s horse ranch had always been a nice place to sit and do a few sketches, especially since Horses were one of her favorite subjects of drawing. She cautiously approached the nearest pasture. It was huge, with a couple of trees scattered here and there. She ducked under the fence and took a few steps in. “I wonder which form I should try,” she wondered to herself aloud. Snowdust was absolutely beautiful, but Snowdust was definitely not the most familiar of all the horses. Finally, after much thought, she decided to try Strider, one of the sweetest horses at the ranch. He was huge, being a Clydesdale and all, and had a gorgeous golden coat with a creamy mane and tale. She closed her eye, and imagined his strong legs, firm shoulders, flowing mane and gentle eyes. She imagined his strength becoming her own. When she opened her eye, she found that she was much taller. She looked at the ground and saw a pair of hooves. She laughed, but instead of her laugh, a loud whinny came out. Suddenly, she heard another whinny echo hers. What was that?! She thought to herself. I thought all the horses were inside today! She looked, and from behind the trees the outline of a figure could be seen galloping towards her. Her heart dropped at the sight of it. Oh no,  she thought. Anyone but Thunder. Thunder was the meanest of any horse she had ever met. He bit and kick and bucked and no one but her cousin could ride him. She only had a moment to think before he had caught up to her and gave her one swift kick to the head. She stumbled, black spots dancing before her eyes. Hey punk! Whatcha doin’ in ma pasture? Lily’s head spun. Her thoughts seemed to have been knocked right out of her head.  I…uh…um… Lily felt another kick land somewhere on her side. Oopsy! Did’n see ya there! Or there! The horse sneered. Lily tried to think straight. She couldn’t fight in horse form, for fear of injuring him, but she couldn’t turn into human, because she might get hurt. Her mind began to race, trying to think of an idea. She needed to transform into something that could help her escape, but her mind drew a blank. Plus, did she even know how to change an animal to another animal that she had never tried before? Suddenly, she had the perfect idea. There was one, and only one animal that Thunder feared, and that was Rover, her cousin’s dog. Rover knew how to keep the horses in line, especially Thunder. She tried to transform, but her whole body was stiff in panic. Thunder reared up for another attack, when suddenly, standing right before him was Rover, with his fur bristled. Lily gave a deep growl, and Thunder made a high pitched whinny that made Lily glad she couldn’t speak horse. Thunder stamped his hooves on the ground, and then bolted, as fast as well… thunder.

Lily tiptoed over to the suitcases and dug out a pair of jeans and her favorite hoodie, the one with “St. Thomas More University” on it. She carefully went into the bathroom and changed. Today was Lily’s fourteenth birthday, and she and her family had gone to a lodge up in the Appalachian Mountains. Lily was having a wonderful time, and she had even drawn several sketches that were very nice, but they came nowhere near as close to the breathtaking beauty of the actual mountains. She came out of the bathroom, dressed and ready. As she stood in the dark room, she could barely see the outline of her parents, fast asleep on the bed. At the time, she had no idea that this would be the last time she saw them for a very long time. Lily walked silently over to the counter, grabbed the room key, and carefully slipped out the door.

          Lily stood on the edge of the roof. The ground seemed miles and miles away. This had really been a better idea in her head. Lily took a deep breath, but just couldn’t bring herself to make the jump off the building. What if she panicked and wasn’t able to transform? From this height, the impact would probably injure her, or even kill her. She took a few steps back muttering “I can’t do it. I just can’t.” But you have to, she told herself. Who knows when you’ll get another opportunity? Lily took a sharp breath, and stepped once again onto the ledge. With her whole body quivering in fear, she leaned forward and allowed gravity to take her down. The wind was like knives, slashing at her face, and the ground seemed to come racing towards her like a freight train. For a split second, nothing happened, and she began to panic, but then, moments before she hit the ground, she felt her body shrinking and her face widening. She thrust out her wings and felt her stomach get the roller coaster sensation as the wind filled her wings like a sail. She continued to glide, slowly and gracefully in her new owl form. Lily couldn’t help but feel her heart leap for joy. She was alive! And she was flying!  She allowed her bird-instincts to take over, as her wings scooped out the air and bent it to her will. She flew over the tops of the pines, flying as if she had been doing it her whole life. Her new bird senses began to pick up on something. It was a car… No, several of them, driving up in the direction of the lodge. She carefully glided down, and landed gracefully on a low pine branch. From her new perch, she was able to see four black cars drive up the dirt road and park right in front of the lodge. Men, quite a few of them, wearing uniform black suits and dark wrap-around glasses, came out of the cars. Lily carefully dropped to the ground and shifted into human form. “Excuse me,” she asked “May I help you?”  One of the men came up to her and said. “Actually you could. We need you to come with us.”

Chapter 13

Audrey’s room had been turned into a bustling city. Invisible highways had been created in the air, which floating objects would travel down. Objects would stop and allow other objects to pass, or suddenly drop into a near-by container. Her IPod, which was filling the room with music, adjusted itself to the perfect volume, and her socks folded and sorted themselves into neat and orderly piles in her drawer. A glass of water filled itself, and came to rest gently in her hand. Audrey took a sip, and tossed it over her shoulder. The cup caught the remaining water, and flew over to empty itself. Audrey sat crisscross on her bed, typing away rhythmically at her laptop. She felt a warm glow as she looked up at the animated room. In just a few minutes, she had finished her homework, cleaned her room, and was now half-way through a difficult scene in her book. At the time, she thought that her new powers were the greatest thing in the world. But then again, that was before she knew what events were about to ensue from them. Her mind was so wrapped up in her story, that she didn’t realize her mom was coming until she was about to open the door. She gave a little yelp, and all of the floating objects came crashing to the ground. “Sweetie?” her mom asked as she opened the door. “What was that about?” Audrey’s face went bright red “Nothing! Nothing at all!” she cried. Her Mom gave her a suspicious look. “I thought I heard a squeal… anyways, I just came up to see how you were doing and ask if you would like anything to eat.” “No!” she cried. “I’m good thank you!” Her mom gave her a concerned look at her hasty response. “Ok then.” She replied. Audrey held her breath until the door was shut. She waited a couple seconds, and then turned back to her story, her shoulders shaking. Half of her mind returned to her story, as the other half concentrated purely on guiding the objects once again. “Oh and Audrey…” Audrey gave another yelp as she realized that she had not waited long enough. Her Mom stood in the doorway, her mouth gaping at the objects which had just fallen to the ground. “Audrey!” She cried. “Mom, I can explain…” she began. Before she could say anything, there was a sharp knock at the door, as a deep voice boomed through the house. “Mrs. Smith!” Her mom turned, too shocked to respond. “Mrs. Smith! By order of the government you are to open this door!” Her mom looked back and forth between Audrey and the stairs, before finally running down the stairs to open the door. Audrey quietly jumped off her bed and silently put her head as close as she could to the top of the stairs, without allowing her head to be seen around the corner. From her position, she could hear the whole conversation perfectly. “I’m sorry Ma’am,” said the voice, “but I need to have a word with your daughter” “My apologies, but Audrey’s feeling a bit under the weather at the moment.” “Mrs. Smith, this is a matter of nation-wide security, and anything you say can be held against you as treason. Now, I demand to see your daughter…Alone.” Audrey peered her head around the corner, and saw a large man, wearing a black suit and wrap around glasses, standing in the doorway. “Hello Mrs. Smith,” He said, turning his cold gaze to her. “I am going to have to talk to you for a moment.”              




Chapter 14

It was hard to hear in the bustling airport. Sounds seemed to echo off the walls and back again. The air was filled with that crisp, airport smell that would only subdue when it was occasionally penetrated by the grease smell of fast-food. Ethan gave a rueful smile as he thought of how he had just been at an airport like this one not too long ago. Now, as he was being escorted by the mysterious man in black, it seemed to have lost that magic to it. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sight of another man dressed in black just like the one next to him. The approaching man had a surprised look on his face. “What are you doing here?” he asked to the other man. Ethan’s escort gave an equally surprised look. “I was just bringing this boy to head-quarters. The boss said there was a Power Holder on the loose, and I was finally able to track him to Alaska. But the more important question is… what are you doing here?” “I got word of the Power Holder too, but I found him in New Mexico.” The Man next to Ethan gave a little frown. “You must have found the wrong one, because I saw the boy’s ice powers with my own eyes.” The other man gave him a curious look, “That’s not possible, cause you see, I saw this young one here run three laps around a quarter-mile track within a fraction of a second.” As he said this, Ethan finally noticed the little boy standing silently. He was small, but despite his height he couldn’t be younger than eight. He was probably around nine. He was Latino, with a mess of curly black hair and dark eyes. He looked absolutely terrified. Ethan instantly felt a strong urge to protect him. He gave a little smile, as if saying “It’s going to be alright.” The little boy returned his gesture with a small smile of gratitude. “I have something important that I have to show to the boss right away,” said Ethan’s escort softly. The other man gave him a look of disbelief and said, “And what could that possibly be?” The man next to Ethan peered quickly around to make sure nobody was looking, and then proceeded to pull out his iPhone. After tapping on it a few times, he handed it over to the other man. He gave a sharp gasp at the picture, and took a quick look around to make sure nobody heard. Ethan craned his neck in an attempt to see what the picture was, but it had already returned to the man’s pocket. “I took the picture just after we fished him out of the ocean,” he said, “The boy left this when he escaped from under the ice.” “But how...” “I don’t know. I haven’t seen it happen to any other Power Holder, which is why I believe that it is important that I get this to the boss as soon as possible.” The other man stood mutely for a couple seconds, before finally saying. “I just don’t believe it. The Mark of the Power Holders…” “The mark?” Ethan interrupted. “Nothing,” replied the man next to him, “Nothing of any importance to you.”  

  

Chapter 15

Chris lounged on the couch with his bare feet propped up on the coffee table. He had a bag of chips and a root beer on his lap. Within the following days after his arrival to this strange place, he had made it his number one priority to make it brighter. At first, the four teenage power holders were surprised by Chris’s droll yet pert humor and reacted with a wary attitude, but they had eventually come to warm up to it. By the huge metal door that Chris had entered was a little notepad, where they could request any type of food, clothing, or other things they needed. Every week, a S.A.L.P.H. agent would come and take it and bring them the things from last week’s request. The agent who had come to pick up that week’s request was slightly baffled by the amount of junk food that Chris had written down. What can I say, thought Chris with amusement, I’m a growing boy. Chris had also ordered several video games and an assortment of his favorite movies to help bond with his new room-mates. Now he lay, lounging on the couch, watching a movie and trying to get his new friends to laugh with his loud commentary and crude jokes. He couldn’t help but feel a small grin touch his face as he glanced over at the four guys lying comfortably beside him. They all seemed much happier than when he had first met them. Indeed, Matt and the others felt grateful for this new and much livelier company. “Idiot!” cried Chris, throwing one of his chips at the screen. “What does he think he’s doing?” A couple of the other guys grinned at this sudden outburst. “Hey Chris,” said Alex, “Pass the chips?” Chris gave him a nod, and held out the bag so Alex could reach and grab a handful. After Alex had taken some, Chris offered some to the others. When Chris had shifted back to a comfortable position, he took a quick glance around the room. The walls were a dull gray and made of solid concrete. On the north side of the huge room, there was the heavy, vault-like door that lead to the outer shell of the S.A.L.P.H. headquarters. In the southeastern wall of the octagon there was a door that lead to the restrooms. Every other wall contained a massive door that resembled a garage door. Each of these garage doors held a large room that was split into two smaller bedrooms. Chris, along with the other guys had chosen rooms along the eastern wall. It had only been two days, but Chris had already made his room extremely comfortable. The walls were covered in posters, and the floor was a huge mess of dirty socks and old snack wrappers. Yep. Just the way he liked it. He also blushed slightly at the thought of the box of comic books under his bed. He had taken extra precautions to make sure that they didn’t find out about those. Chris was unexpectedly jerked from his thoughts by the most unexpected surprise. The door knob of the large metal door turned, and then the whole door swung open to reveal a S.A.L.P.H. agent. The sight of the agent wasn’t surprising, but what stood behind him was. Behind him stood a small group of kids, a few of which appeared to be around his age. “Got you some company,” grunted the agent. He ushered the four kids into the room and gave a sniff of distaste before slamming the door shut behind them. The sound of the door locking seemed to echo off the walls of the room. For a minute, the four previously lounging guys were too shocked to say anything, and an awkward silence filled the room. Matt was the first to break the silence. “Hello!” he said in a cheerful voice. He jumped up off the couch and stepped forward to shake their hands. Chris had spent most of his life around people, and he could read people like an open book. The first person he saw was a teenage girl, whom he would have to pinpoint about fifteen years old. At first glance, he might have thought her a stereo-type California girl, with long curly blonde hair and tan skin. But when he studied her closely he found that she had slumped shoulders, like someone who had been picked on often, and she held herself in an insecure way. She wore shorts, a tank top, and purple glasses that covered her gray eyes. Behind her stood a teenage guy of about sixteen or so, with a shy look about him. He didn’t appear shy like the first girl did, insecure and docile, but instead he appeared to be more like a bashful sort of shy. He had a slightly large, yet gentle build, with blonde hair and surprisingly blue eyes. He wore a blue plaid button up shirt and jeans, with a small wooden cross around his neck. If he didn’t appear so meek, Chris may have said he looked like a musician from a boy-band. Behind him was a very small boy with an impish like face. His dark curly hair, his darkish skin, and his deep, dark, almost black espresso brown eyes all indicated that he was Latino. Despite his small size, he seemed to have enough energy for three. He was constantly moving, fiddling with his hat or tapping his foot, and it was evident that he had A.D.H.D. He wore loose, sport shorts and a sport shirt that was a couple sizes too large for him. His normally mischievous eyes now contained a fear that seemed unknown to him, and he appeared to be fighting this fear back in order to look brave. And finally, the fourth and last of the new members was a girl of around thirteen or fourteen. Her whole appearance seemed to radiate warmth. Her hair was cinnamon brown, and eyes were a deep, melted chocolate. Her cheeks were naturally flushed, and she had a spray of faded freckles across her nose. She wore a pair of dark skinny jeans, black converses, and a pull-over hoodie with the words “St. Thomas More University” on it. Chris’s mind told him she was really cute, and then he told his mind to shut up. All of these thoughts passed through his head in only a few moments, but those few moments were enough to allow an awkward silence to fill the room. Matt’s hand lowered when the four new kids failed to respond. “I’m so sorry. This must all be a lot to take in.” He gestured for them to sit down right where they were standing, and all nine of them sat in a circle. As Chris quickly discovered, Matt had an aura of leadership, and seemed to bring comfort and confidence to those around him. “My name’s Matt,” he said, in his firm and gentle voice, “and these are Alex, Dakota, Toby, and Chris.” He gestured to each of them as he said their name. Each of the four new members nodded. The Brown haired girl was the first to respond. She too seemed to have an aura of leadership, though it was nowhere near as strong as Matt’s. “I’m Lily,” she said. Matt nodded, as if he were memorizing the name. He then turned to the little boy next to her and nodded encouragingly. “I’m Diego,” he replied in a Spanish accent. “I’m Ethan,” said the tall boy next to Diego sheepishly. “And I’m Audrey,” finished the blonde girl. Matt nodded and smiled at each of them. The conversation continued in an awkward manner, but with Matt’s help they were able to grow more comfortable as they each told the story about what had happened to them. As they told their stories, Chris realized that each of their stories weren’t that different from his own. They each appeared to be having a normal day when something suddenly intervened and caused them a great emotion, and somehow that emotion seemed to trigger a strange, supernatural power. But just as they were beginning to learn how to control their power, a strange man in a black suit and wrap-around black glasses appeared on the scene, telling them that they had to leave with them to meet this “boss”. As Audrey finally finished up her story, Lily suddenly interrupted and asked. “So wait, are we just going to stay here for the rest of our lives? There’s absolutely nothing we can do about it?” Matt shook his head ruefully. “I’ve tried escaping here many times. The whole place is under surveillance, and even if you managed to get away, the S.A.L.P.H. has the technology to pinpoint a power holder’s location pretty accurately. With them, and the entire U.S. government against us, there’s absolutely nowhere we can hide. We’re pretty much screwed.” Lily’s eyebrows scrunched up, which Chris found rather cute. “Well, if we somehow manage to get out, we could technically travel from place to place, so that we throw them off scent.” Matt shrugged his shoulders. “I guess, but it would be pretty risky, and we would still have to figure out how to get out of the place first. I would say we need a full day’s length of a head start if we’re hoping to do that.” Lily put the side of her index knuckle to her lips, as if considering his notion. “I think we can do that,” she replied. Matt waved his hands in a “timeout” gesture. “Hold your horses! You can’t be seriously planning to attempt an escape?” Lily gave a small shrug. “I could try,” she remarked. Matt simply shook his head. “You must be kidding! I’ve been here for two years, and I know this place better than any other!” “Good,” Lily replied with a sly grin, “we’ll need that information if we want to get out of here. And anyways, maybe all you need is a fresh mind to solve the problem!”          



  

Chapter 16

Robert looked over the list for the fourth time in a row. For as long as he had been working here, he couldn’t remember ever getting such a random request.

          1 MegaMonster light ™

           6 lemons

          2 bags of ice

          1 small bag of sugar

          1 potted plant- daffodil

          18 root beers

He scanned the first line over again. He vaguely remembered seeing one of those. After a moment of thought, he remembered that his daughter owned one. It was a thick flashlight with four different switches, a white light, a laser, a UV light and a red light. Why the heck they needed such an expensive flashlight puzzled him. He scanned the next few lines. It seemed simple enough. They probably just wanted to make some lemonade. Now, why they didn’t just ask for a gallon of lemonade was the better question. He shrugged his shoulders. I guess some people just prefer homemade, he thought. It was the fifth item on the list that baffled him. He could have sworn Daniel told him that he had bought a potted plant for them last week. He let out a sigh, and thought of several more feeble excuses of why the power holders would want more than one potted plant. The root beer itself seemed harmless enough despite the excessive amount. Then again, it was his job to try and find anything suspicious in the young power holder’s requests. Robert shook his head. It was also his job to make them as comfortable as possible. Technically, they hadn’t committed a crime, and law insisted that they couldn’t be held in a prison. Secretly, the S.A.L.P.H.  also kept them happy to try and prevent any will of escape. Robert folded up the paper and put it in his pocket. “The sooner you get the items, the sooner you can get back to work,” he whispered to himself. Back to the stupid paperwork, he reminded himself. He walked over to the door and punched in the password on the security. For the most part, his mind was focused on paperwork and his daughter’s birthday party next week, but a tiny worm of doubt still found his way into his mind.

Lily and the eight other power holders squirmed in their seats as they waited for the agent to return. Sometimes, it was a few days before the agent brought back the requested items, but it only took them an hour before they began to feel antsy. Just as they were beginning to feel like they couldn’t wait any longer, they heard the sound of the huge metal door opening. Lily tried to remember the advice she had given her companions. “act normal,” she had told them, “we don’t want anyone getting suspicious.” No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t help but feel her eyes slowly drift in the direction of the agent, who was hastily putting down a large cardboard box. She watched the agent turn away and leave the room. The very instant she heard the deafening boom of the door closing, she sprang from her seat and ran over to the box. All of the others crowded around to see. Lily tried to calm her racing heart as she began opening the box. You’ve been let down many times before, she told herself why should this be any different? With a look of determination, she opened the box and looked inside. With a cry of triumph, she held the potted plant aloft. There was a brief moment of silence before the teenage guys began cheering loudly and slapping each other on the back. “Quiet!” Audrey hissed, waving her hands, “don’t let them hear you!” Even as she said this, she couldn’t help but feel a grin creep over her face. For many weeks, they had repeatedly asked for a potted plant, only to be disappointed by the plastic pot. It wasn’t a major surprise, since the S.A.L.P.H. took careful precautions to make sure that they had nothing to use against them. Every metal had been replaced with aluminum or another non-magnetic metal to ensure that Toby couldn’t try and use his powers to his advantage. But now, they had clay! Dakota stepped forward, but Lily shook her head. “not yet,” she said, “if they decide to inspect our rooms, I don’t want them finding something that looks like you’ve been twisting into funny shapes. It’s best if we leave it as a pot, At least for the time being.” Dakota nodded and took a step back. He wasn’t incredibly smart, and he preferred taking orders from someone he trusted to trying to figure it out for himself. Lily handed the pot to Ethan. “Could you put this in my room?” she asked. Ethan blushed, nodded bashfully, and then took the plant into her bedroom. Then she pulled out an extremely thick flashlight, with four different lights on it. “here,” she said, handing the object to Audrey. Audrey nodded and pocketed it. Lily then handed the large bags of ice to Chris and Toby, and the bag of sugar to Alex. Diego gave Lily a confused look. “What are those for?” Lily shrugged. “I thought they would get a little suspicious if we ordered a whole bunch of lemons, so I also ordered some ice and sugar too, so as to make it look like we were making lemonade. Matt, who was watching their conversation, gave a nod of approval. “Smart,” he muttered. He couldn’t help but feel a small grin creep over his normally collected face. This girl had the promising of a great leader. She was friendly and had an attractive personality, but she also had a genius mind when it came to problem-solving. Lily, who hadn’t noticed Matt’s nod of approval, picked up the lemons that were on the ground and put them into a large bowl, which she then placed on the table. Lily took a step back and admired her handy-work. “Guys!” Audrey called. “There’s still more.” Chris dashed passed them and pulled out the bottles of root-beer from the box. “Yes!” he called out. Suddenly, eight pairs of eyes fell upon him. “What?” he protested, “I like root-beer!”

Chapter 17               

Lily sat with her knees pulled to her chest. Her heart was beating rapidly, and she concentrated all her focus on not breathing so loudly. She stared at the bowl of lemons for what seemed like hours. Finally, Alex looked over at the digital clock that lay on top of the mini fridge. “Twelve thirty,” he announced, “I think it’s late enough.” Lily realized she had been holding her breath. She jumped up, and led the way into Dakota’s room.

 Dakota’s room was crowded with stuff. He had a lot of weights and some dirty clothes that covered the floor. There was a large surf board lying on the ground, for what reason Lily didn’t know. The room seemed to get warm as everyone crowded around. Lily, Dakota, and Toby knelt down at the opposite side of the room. Toby pulled out the coin, which he carried with him everywhere, and Dakota carried with him the potted plant. “Ready?” she asked. Dakota nodded, and to her surprise smashed the pot against the wall. Everyone in the room jumped, and Lily cried out, “Hey!” Shards of clay lay scattered around the room. “Sorry,” he said, but the smirk on his face didn’t make him seem very apologetic. “When I said you got to destroy the pot I didn’t mean like that! Someone could have heard!” Lily shook her head, “Sorry about that, you just frightened me. There’s nobody hear who could have heard that. Just warn me next time.” Dakota nodded mutely, and picked up a few of the shards. Lily watched his brow furrow as he tried to concentrate on the clay. He sat there for several minutes, squeezing his eyes shut and sweat dripping down his forehead. The shards of clay rolled around the floor, moving around in no general direction. “Come on,” she whispered, “You have to concentrate.” Dakota tried for several more minutes, and then threw his handful of clay onto the ground. “I can’t do it,” he panted. Watching from beside Diego, Matt shook his head. He had been watching how Lily led the Power Holders, and was intrigued by her determination. But no matter how determined you are, there are things that just can’t be done. “Like escape from this prison,” he whispered under his breath, so that nobody but him could hear.

Lily took Dakota’s hand and squeezed it. Dakota was surprised by the sudden gesture. “Yes you can,” she said, “I know you. I know you can do it.” Her voice sounded so sure, that Dakota started to believe it. Lily was an odd girl. Yes, she was a strong leader, but she had something else. She felt for those around her, and tried to put their needs first. Dakota decided that if she thought he could do it, that he could. He took his hand out of hers, and picked up the shards again. Even with his eyes closed, he could still see the pieces of clay. No, he thought, I can feel them. It was as if a sixth sense allowed him to feel earth. But feeling them was one thing, and moving them was another. The best way to describe the feeling is like an ear. You can feel it, but very few people know how to wiggle it. It’s just a muscle that’s been unused, and you just can’t seem to figure out how to control it. Dakota tried to not only FEEL the clay, but control it. He tried to put is energy into pulling it, moving it, bending it.

          Everyone in the room held their breath as they watched the clay roll towards Dakota. Lily could see the shards starting to bend like putty. They came into his outstretched hand, swirling tightly into a ball. The pot was huge, and Lily could see that the amount of clay he had couldn’t fit into his hand. But he concentrated harder and harder, and the ball seemed to get smaller and smaller. Dakota was soon able to wrap his hand around it, and squeezed and squeezed it with all of his might. Behind him Matt froze in surprise. Within a minute the ball of clay had become so difficult to compress that he needed both of his hands. His face started changing to pink, and then to a bright scarlet, and he sweat so hard his hair looked wet. “Holy…” Audrey stepped on Chris’s foot before he could continue, and made a gesture to Diego, who was staring wide eye at the incredible phenomenon. After what seemed like forever, Dakota finally took his hands off the clay, revealing the most compressed piece of clay they had ever seen. It looked like a dime, but within a second the edges had become razor sharp. Dakota’s eyes were beginning to loll back into his head, and he was breathing heavily. “I… did…it…” he gasped, holding out his shaking hand so that Lily could have it. Matt was watching the entire ordeal with a look of shock, which finally changed to one of satisfaction as he watched Lily taking the clay from him, telling how wonderful he had done and ordering the others to get him a towel and water.