Aiden
Lewis Knox’s glass skin is sharp, pointed—ready to strike against Billy. Last semester, he almost impaled us with his flying glass shards, and we’re not risking that again. Everyone in my Developing Your Abilities class, including myself, stands against the white brick wall behind one of my forcefields. The clearish-blue barrier twinkles and moves like a thin veil, only connected to me by thin lines of blue energy.
Professor Biv Valentino stands behind my forcefield as well. Her red eyes are focused like a hawk on the current mock battle between her students. She stands with strong authority and confidence that radiates her Guardian personality: The Prism. Her pixie-cut white-blond hair, pale skin, and bleach-white clothes add to the brilliance of her persona.
Lewis’s coal-like eyes scan the large gymnasium for his opponent. “Come out, come out, wherever you are, Billy,” he taunts. “You can’t camouflage yourself forever.”
“Lewis, let Billy come to you,” Valentino orders. “Remember what we discussed during our one-on-one training sessions last semester; use your other senses to find him.”
“Why is my boyfriend being such a chump?” Carly Marzolla whispers next to me, chewing on bubblegum that matches her pink skin. “He should just get this over with and stop acting like a scared chameleon.”
Carly’s honeyed voice is enough to make my stomach turn, but her attitude makes me sicker. “Why don’t you give him some credit? I’m sure he’s trying to figure out a way to attack while staying in one piece.”
“Too bad he’s not as strong as you, eh?” Carly slides her hand up my arm. “Lewis wouldn’t be able to lay a hand on you with those forcefields of yours.”
My skin crawls, and I jerk away. “Don’t touch me.”
She crosses her arms and pouts. “You’re no fun.”
Lewis moves apprehensively in his search for Billy. It’s almost comical to watch this glass beast take such timid steps.
Squeak. The sound is faint, like it could be a mouse or an invisible pair of shoes on the tile floor.
Lewis faces the sound, lunges forward, and collides with an invisible force.
Thud!
Billy’s large, muscular frame appears on the floor, and he grabs his arm. “Ow! Man!” Blood pours from underneath his hand. His training uniform, which normally resembles a black wetsuit, and his skin reflect his camouflage ability, like a living canvas with paint swirling between different hues of cream, tan, and red.
“Oh, dude!” Lewis eyes the blood pooling on the floor. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize you’d be right there!”
I immediately end the forcefield, wanting to help Billy, but Valentino beelines for him in a flash of light to examine his wound.
Billy winces and takes a long breath. “Damn. He got me good, didn’t he?”
“I have something from Nurse Pumpa that will heal this quickly.” Valentino faces the class. “We’ll be right back.” She assists Billy to his feet, and they head out of the room.
Carly snorts and runs her fingers through her magenta spiky hair. “That was anticlimactic.”
“Can you stop being such a snob?” I snap my head in her direction. “Maybe be a little more sympathetic for your boyfriend?”
She steps backward, like I just shocked her. “Oh, you think I’m a snob? What about your girlfriend? She’s the biggest one I know!”
My chest tightens like I’m becoming stone, but my heart thumps harder. “You did not just say that.”
Carly purses her lips and places her hand on her hip. “Oh, I said it, all right. I don’t know how you can be with someone so pathetic. She’s not even in the Defender program.”
“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll shut up about Ember.” My threat comes out like a growl, and my hands crackle angrily with electricity. “Because, unlike you, I do care about the person I’m dating.”
She waves her hand in the air, like that’s an unimportant detail. “I just don’t understand what you see in her.”
“You don’t have to!” I say a little louder, realizing I’m letting my emotions get the best of me. I take a calming breath and let the electricity dissipate in my hands but keep my stare firm. “Understand this, Carly, Billy may not see what a snake in the grass you are, but I know you’re using him to get closer to me. Whatever game you are trying to play, you will lose.”
“Whatever.” She squares her shoulders and narrows her dark magenta eyes. “At least Billy isn’t afraid of being with a real woman, unlike you.”
She turns on her heel and walks away.
Even though I should be relieved at Carly leaving, aggravation courses through me with each heartbeat, triggering my anxiety to spike. I feel on edge, and my eyes dart around like a threat is nearby when there are none. The rest of the class are in their own little cliques, talking to one another, oblivious to my inner struggle. I notice Lewis chatting with Sing Lee, a student who can phase through any objects. An explosion that claimed his father’s life and put his mother into a coma when he was younger horribly scarred his face. He lays his hand on Lewis’s shoulder, as if he’s trying to comfort him about what happened to Billy.
“It seems like you and Carly have something interesting going on.” Scott Rogers walks up behind me and nudges me with his elbow. “Does Ember know about you two?”
My muscles tense, and I turn to glare at Scott.
His silver eyes are creased with his crooked smile, and his nose resembles a wad of clay smashed on his face with a harsh angle at the end.
I narrow my eyes. “You have some nerve to talk to me after what you did.”
He raises his hands in surrender. “Uh-oh, what did I do?”
“You know exactly what!” I try not to shout. “Because of you, Ember has to do this ridiculous press conference. She had to promise the press something after you announced her presence to the world at The Regenerator’s service. If she didn’t, they would’ve never left her alone.”
“Oh, yeah. That’s right.” He shrugs. “Well, it was about time the world got to see that face of hers. It’s too pretty to hide.” He grins and cocks an eyebrow. “Am I right, buddy? I bet she’s great in the sack.”
Fury dominates my mind, and a red haze teases my vision. My fist rises, like it has a mind of its own. I punch Scott in his jaw, and his face jerks aside.
Nearby classmates gasp.
My knuckles sting, but it’s a satisfying sensation.
“Mr. Stiles!” Valentino shouts. “What’s going on here?”
Billy stands behind her, his brown eyes wide and his skin is a tornado of colors attempting to camouflage. A fresh bandage is wrapped around his arm.
“Oh, it’s nothing.” Scott smirks while rubbing his chin. “Just some fun banter, Professor.”
It dawns on me. I’ve just punched a guy out of anger—something I’ve never done before. A wave of regret washes over me, extinguishing my fury. Scott may be a jerk, but I am better than this.
Valentino’s stare stays fixated on me.
“Yeah.” I swallow back the knot in my throat. “Just fun banter.”
“You better watch that anger of yours,” Scott whispers as he passes me. “You never know where it could lead you.”
Before I get a chance to fully process Scott’s words, Valentino says, “Maybe you should go next, then, Stiles.” She eyes me like she doesn’t believe me or Scott. “Let’s put your energy to good use. You’re up against Mr. Jelani.”
I drop my head. This is what I deserve.
Jomo Jelani steps forward. His large frame is intimidating to most people, and I’m not sure who has larger muscles, him or Billy. His long golden dreadlocks are tied back, and his bright yellow, feline-like eyes contrast vibrantly against his dark skin. He inclines his chin, making him seem taller than me, though we’re both around six feet tall. “Today is the day!” he says like he’s announcing it to the world. “The rematch I’ve been waiting for!”
It takes everything in me not to roll my eyes. Jomo will never get over the fact that I won the Youth Abilities Competition last year when he failed to use his mind-control ability on me because of my forcefields.
“Take your places,” Valentino commands.
Jomo and I saunter to the middle of the room. The fluorescent lights hum above us. I take my place about fifteen feet away from him and harness the electrical energy in the air around me. My powers pulsate, tingling my whole body, and my veins light up a bright electric blue, shining through the black training suit.
Valentino walks between us like a drill sergeant. “Remember, this is for practice. Not to kill each other.” She regards me as she heads toward the wall. “I mean it. Play nice.”
Jomo grins. “It’s time to show everyone who the real champion is here.”
I grit my teeth. “Don’t worry, I will.”
Jomo’s lips curl, and his larger-than-life, yellowish ghostly hands emerge from his back, heading straight for me. If they touch me, that’s it; he’ll use his mind control to turn me into his puppet.
But just like at the YAC, there’s no way he’ll get that chance.
Two streams of energy rush from my hands, creating a wall-size forcefield, blocking Jomo’s attack in the nick of time. His hands hover eerily in front, wanting to possess me. They dart to the side to go around my block, but I expand it to circle me.
“Your cheap tricks are just that! Tricks!” Jomo shouts. “You can’t fight like a man!”
“And you’re all talk! I see you haven’t improved since we last went toe to toe!”
Jomo squints, and his lips press tightly together.
I close my left hand, severing some energy to my forcefield to form a bright blue orb in my hand: an energy blast. Sparks dance inside of it while I manipulate a spot in my forcefield to peel away. A hole opens in front of me—the perfect size to aim my blast at Jomo. I hurl my attack and seal the spot, securing my forcefield again.
Jomo’s creepy ghost hands capture my blast between them, and it extinguishes like a dying flashlight. “Your attacks are pathetic!” Jomo grins ear to ear. “Like you!”
I growl under my breath. Electricity snaps from me like lightning and highlights the surprise in Jomo’s eyes as my bolts strike him on his shoulders. He drops to the floor, and his ghostly hands fade.
“Now who’s pathetic?” I mumble and reform a forcefield around me.
Jomo jumps to his feet. His spectral hands reappear and soar through the air like birds about to pick up their prey. They vigorously scratch and pound on my forcefield.
My breathing becomes ragged, and my muscles twitch, but I harness more energy around me, trying to maintain my defense. As much as I hate to admit it, Jomo’s attacks have strengthened since the last time we battled.
A mischievous smile spreads across Jomo’s face.
In the blink of an eye, one of his ghostly hands swells to the size of a wrecking ball and slams powerfully onto my forcefield. My muscles flex painfully at the impact, and I drop to one knee. Horror fills my eyes. His attack broke through my forcefield, creating a large hole in the barrier.
Before I have the chance to fix the damage, Jomo’s other ghostly hand flies down and punches me in the face. My mind spins, and I fall to the floor, ending my forcefield completely. The taste and scent of iron drowns my senses. I’m blinded by pain, and my nose feels on fire. I adjust my jaw, and it cracks while popping back in place.
“Aiden!” Billy shouts. “Are you okay?”
A new fear settles over me; I’m in trouble. If I can’t rebuild my forcefield, I’ll lose and never hear the end of it from Jomo. I push through the dizziness and force myself to my feet, letting my power—
CRACK!
Jomo’s ghostly hand hits me again in the same spot, and this time, everything goes black for a second. Blood runs freely from my nose, and I cough, choking on the warm liquid running down my throat. I try to get up again, but the room won’t stop spinning.
The presence of Jomo’s ghostly hands on my shoulders overrides all my physical pain. Pure terror sets in as his voice fills my mind. “See? You are all cheap tricks, with no true fighting style.” A fog rolls over my brain. There’s no way to stop it, and my sight blurs. “That’s it, Aiden, just give in. Show the class that I am the best, not you. I wonder what the Vulterra girl sees in you. You’ll never be a great Guardian like her parents.”
His words are gasoline to my smoldering anger, and they reignite my fury, boiling my blood.
Jomo's mind control suddenly feels minuscule, nothing but a pathetic attempt by a fool.
The fire coursing through my veins burns away some of the fog in my mind. I focus enough to open my hand and create a forcefield. It slices through Jomo’s connection, killing his hold on me.
My sight clears to see Jomo’s eyes wide with bewilderment.
I manipulate my forcefield around me; it hugs my body tightly, like blue plastic wrap. It’s connected to my entire energy supply, making it almost indestructible. My lips curve into a snarl. “You really should keep your mouth shut.”
“And you need to learn you are nothing without those forcefields!” Jomo’s nose twitches in anger. “You. Are. Worthless,” he spits out the last word. A new set of ghostly hands emerge from behind him and come for me once again.
An uncontrollable rage pumps through my blood, and red tints my vision. The electrical energy in me erupts to a new level, and my veins glow more intensely than ever before. Electricity cracks angrily from me, phasing through my forcefield without it faltering—to electrocute Jomo.
Jomo screams and collapses to his knees. A swarm of lightning and smoke covers him, making it almost impossible to see the anguish across his face. He clenches his hands against his head, and a faint yellow haze surrounds him—his abilities. I surge more energy into my attack, creating a wild electrical storm that dominates his power.
His screams get louder, and it fuels my rage, wanting to shut him up. I harness more power into my attack, ensuring he’ll never doubt my power again. The red tint in my sight thickens.
A bright burst of light causes me to close my eyes in agony, and I cease my attack.
After a few moments, the white haze in my vision fades to reveal Valentino in front of me, glowing with her light manipulation abilities. Her mouth and eyes are firm but settled with outrage and disappointment. The sight forces me to get my breathing under control, but my heart still pounds hard with the reminder of my wrath.
“That. Was. Not. Acceptable.” Valentino says each word like a punch to my stomach. It’s hard for me to meet her gaze; her blood-colored eyes show no understanding.
I risk a look at Jomo. Smoke rises from him, and his head hangs low. His entire body twitches every few seconds. My stomach sinks. What have I done?
The pain in my face returns like a hurricane, making me queasy. I reach for my nose, and it grinds under my touch. A stabbing pain vibrates through my skull.
“I’ll deal with you later,” Valentino speaks firmly. “Both you and Mr. Jelani need to get medical attention first.”
I nod, trying to hide my shame, while also fighting the urge to vomit.
“Wow,” someone whispers behind me, “I wonder if he’ll be the next one to go villain.”
“I told you. He’ll be the next Jill.”
“He was really losing it, wasn’t he?” another student adds. “I guess the curse is really a thing.”
The curse. Supposedly once a year, a student goes berserk and causes chaos for no good reason. I desperately want to become a Guardian, but my blood runs cold. If I’m unable to control my emotions, is there a different fate I may fall victim to?