Quinn pushed his way through the crowd of people and made his way to us. Silas darted to me and pulled me into a warm embrace. I could feel the worry leave his body as he held me tightly. Only after looking me over did he speak.
“Where the hell have you been?” His face red with a mixture of rage and worry.
“I’m sorry Silas,” I gulped, “We somehow teleported. We were drained and needed to rest so we stayed at the bunker last night.”
Silas’ eyes looked as though they would pop out of his head. He glowered first at me and then at Gabe. He stormed up to Gabe and spoke inches from his face.
“You stay the hell away from Layla, you hear me?”
Gabe smiled and in a silvery tone said, “Layla and I are besties now. After the glamourous day and evening we shared, I might be willing to say we are more.”
Gabe winked at me.
Silas outraged clocked Gabe in the face, blood splattered across the cafeteria. On impact a brilliant light ignited and the side of Gabe’s face glowed a fiery red where Silas hit him. A mixture of burnt flesh and acridness filled the air. Gabe dropped to his knees, searing pain spread across his burnt face. I dropped to Gabe’s side and could see his face was severely burnt. Quinn called for a teen girl named Olyvia. I watched helplessly as Olyvia ran over to Gabe. I tried to remember Olyvia’s ability from the previous day but my mind was racing with worry. Olyvia was a tall, lean girl with long wavy brown hair and midnight eyes that pierced when you glanced into them. Olyvia surveyed the situation and slowly moved her hands over Gabe’s burnt steaming fleshed face. Gabe cried out in pain. She moved her hands a bit faster over the burn. She then proceeded to push her hands right into his wound. Gabe let out a horrific scream before passing out completely. Olyvia pressed her hands harder into his wound and the air filled with a strange and unpleasant calendula scent. Within minutes Gabe’s face was completely healed. It was like nothing terrible had happened. We all watched in astonishment at the sight before us. I glanced around the room to see Silas shaking uncontrollably in the corner of the room.
“They need water, now!” I demanded.
I watched Olyvia collapse the remaining distance to the floor and pass out.
Quinn, followed by a few others crowded in and lifted Gabe then Olyvia and took them out of the room.
“Silas come with us,” Quinn demanded, for the first time serious. No humor in his tone.
Silas and I followed behind the men carrying Gabe and Olyvia. We entered into a part of the warehouse we hadn’t been. The men placed Gabe and Olyvia in a tank filled with water. The tank was enormous and appeared to have been moved into this room. I guessed it had been a fish tank at one time. It was centered in the middle of the room and sat directly on the floor. I watched Gabe and Olyvia float in the tank unconscious.
“Silas, I understand you were upset back there but we do not use physical contact on anyone here.This being one of the many reasons why,” He pointed to the tank and then continued, “We talk our problems out here. I understand Gabe can be a bit much and forceful. He can even be cocky but you have to learn to control yourself. Don’t let him or anyone else get to you.”
“I’m sorry. I thought I had my ability under control. I didn’t mean to hurt him. Well, not like that,” Silas replied sounding defeated.
“Thankfully we have Olyvia here,” he glanced in her direction, “She is a healer and has proven to have an extraordinary gift. Doctor Nickels and I have been discussing how we can help you improve, understand and control your gifts in a safe manner. He believes you are all newborns right now. You know you have a gift but do not fully understand how to control it, this has proven to be dangerous. On another note Greg believes there are more people out in the world. He believes he can sense them, he thinks some of the people out there have abilities and some do not. The question is how do we find them?” Quinn explained.
Gabe and Olyvia started to move around in the water. Water overflowed from the tank. Olyvia was the first to surface and Gabe followed moments later.
“They were underwater for ten plus minutes before emerging,” Silas stated.
“Yes, it appears anyone with a gift needs water to recover. When you use your gift you exert a huge amount of energy and soon after you need to hydrate. Emerged in water works the fastest, but drinking it works as well,” Quinn informed us.
I watched Gabe exit the tank with help from a couple of the guys that carried him in. Gabe then helped Olyvia out of the tank. Gabe glared at Silas for a long and awkward moment before exiting the room without saying anything. Silas stepped forward to follow after Gabe but I put a hand out to stop him. Olyvia joined our small group.
“That was fun! Thanks Silas, I’ve been wondering what my healing abilities detailed. I can add burnt victims to my ever growing list. I will say Quinn, it was quite painful towards the end. When I was submerged into the water I felt better,” Olyvia exclaimed.
“Thank you Olyvia for helping Gabe. I know the two of you aren't the best of friends. You truly have an amazing gift,” Quinn said.
Quinn and Olyvia said their goodbyes and exited the room leaving Silas and me standing in silence. I started towards the exit too but Silas stopped me.
“I’m sorry, you know I didn’t mean to do that right?”
“Yes, I know you were upset and that contributed to what happened. We know our emotions play a big part in how our ability betrays itself,” I said.
“When I figure out how to fully control my gift, I’m going to leave and find my dad. I’m beginning to think my nightmares may have some kind of meaning behind them,” I revealed.
“When the time comes I will go with you,” Silas stepped closer to me putting his hand to my face.
The temperature in the room raised, I found myself stepping closer to him.
“I was lost when I couldn’t find you. I couldn’t imagine living in this world without you,” Silas whispered.
He stopped inches from my face, I wanted to kiss him. I stared into his eyes for a long moment before pressing my lips against his. He kissed me back, slowly at first and then with a desperate need. I felt a surge of energy flow through his body. I quickly withdrew taking a few steps back. I felt winded and warm all at once.
“We shouldn’t do this,” I stated scared.
I darted out leaving Silas standing there alone.
Day 63–70:
The days passed quickly. All the gifted teens practiced their abilities. We worked hard learning how to control our emotions and we focused on centering our energy. Small groups of people would head into the city and collect supplies. They set up an above ground pool in one of the parking lots where we practiced our abilities. We discovered we needed lots of water and the pool came in handy. Doctor Nickels and Mabel were often in the background watching and taking notes. Many of the ordinary people also watched us. Each day we learned to control and improve our gifts. We discovered Silas’ light when activated didn’t hurt any of the teens eyes but it was blinding and could burn anyone in the line of fire. We also discovered Olyvia’s healing gifts were able to heal any of the teens, but have minimal effect on anyone else.
Greg tuned in on his gift and was able feel and see the location of the screamers if he was close enough. During the day the screamers were underground, in the subways, dark basements, underground garages, and anywhere light didn’t leak in. Greg didn’t give an exact number of the screamers that lurked under the city but the expression on his face said enough.
I had secretly been practicing my ability too. I had a hard time being with the group during their training sessions. The energy from twelve teenagers was intoxicating. I found myself using all my will power to hold back and not consume every last gift. I stayed a good distance away from the large groups. I was able to interact with a small group of two or three. I found I could easily drain them. I waited until everyone was asleep and then would take their gifts one at a time. I was able to take up to three gifts before I felt I would explode from the electricity coursing through my body.