Awakening (3 page)

Every sense of Caitlyn's was suddenly enhanced. It was amazing. She woke up to a completely new world.

Garrett's smirk returned as it dawned on her the differences. “It's amazing the first time you truly awaken, isn't it?”

Caitlyn's look of wonder did not cease. “Everything… Everything is different. I can't describe it. You even look different!”

And Garrett did. While it was impossible for one not to acknowledge Garrett was good looking, she never noticed all the little details. She had noticed his eyes were hazel in color previously, but she now could see every brown and green fleck that made up his eye color. She could see that his hair, while predominantly dirty blond, actually was made up of seven different shades of blond strands. His jaw line was strong but had several small scars lining it, and his nose was straight, with the exception of a miniscule bump in the middle she had never noticed before.

“Garrett, what do you mean, when you awaken? What is happening to me?” Caitlyn asked, trying to keep her voice calm. At first, she was thrilled just with the idea that she was still alive and not dying, but now that she was on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, she did not know if that scared her more. She inched away from him cautiously. She had trusted him, but the reality was, she had only known him for several weeks. What if he had done something to her? Did he possibly drug her somehow? “What did you do to me?”

“You've changed, Caitlyn, just like I did six years ago. It's what our kind calls, ‘The Awakening,’when it happens. You see-”

“Wait. Our kind? What the hell do you mean by our kind?” She stood up quickly, grateful that she was still in yesterday’s clothes. Never taking her eyes off the man, she moved quickly towards the door.

Garrett looked at her softly, holding up his index finger indicating for her to listen. “I promise I will explain fully.”

She was stuck between thinking she should run away and listening to him. She paused, her hand grasping tightly on his door handle, indecision written over her face.

Garrett used her moment of uncertainty as an indicator to keep on talking. “You see, you were born a normal human, just like every other person. However, there is a gene that splits and evolves over time for a select amount of humans. For most people it starts at around the age of fifteen or sixteen. That’s when we can tell if someone is a Potential or not. Prior to that, you look and act the same as everyone else.”

She stared at him as if he was crazy. He probably was crazy. That was what people in mental institutions said. Worse yet, he probably belonged to some kind of strange cult and that is what he was really recruiting for. He was probably trying to add Caitlyn to his numbers.

But a feeling nagged at her that he was telling the truth. She thought upon the last month and couldn’t help but think of the various people she had seen that never looked right to her. Never releasing the grip on the door, she asked almost timidly, “Is that what I see when I notice someone appears more unfocused than others?”

“Exactly. You pick up quickly. Although, look at me now. What do you see?”

Caitlyn looked at Garrett, and she noticed for the first time, where before he was a tad out of focus, she now observed that he had more of a slight aura about him. She fumbled a little at the door. Maybe she wasn’t better after all. Maybe he did slip her something. Because what she saw was not normal. Still, she couldn’t help but answer. “You are no longer out of focus. You have more of a glow, but it’s only when I concentrate.”

Garrett clasped his hands behind his back as he walked towards her. “I had the same thing happen to me. I started noticing about a month before the change that people were out of focus, fuzzy. I felt like I needed glasses on top of everything else happening to me, but once the change happens, all the sickness goes away. Your body completes the transformation and the others no longer look out of focus, they have a different glow based on if they are an Actual or Potential.”

Her mind began to race with the reality of what he was saying. “This is crazy! Our kind? Actual? Potential? Glows?” When she realized that she was shaking, she paused. She could not afford to be weak in this moment in case she needed a quick getaway. She straightened up, meeting his unwavering gaze. “What am I?”

Garrett’s fingers grasped at Caitlyn lightly. She moved away from his touch. He sighed as if expecting that reaction and moved back across the room. “That Caitlyn, is the million dollar question. We are all slightly different; none of us are exactly the same.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, most of us can use telepathy and have telekinesis, although the extent to which everyone can do this varies greatly. And then others…”

Caitlyn held up her hand. Now she knew he was out of his mind. “Wait. Telepathy? Telekinesis? You’re joking, right? This is all some sick joke that you are playing on me. I mean, that is all fake.”

“No, it’s not. Think about it, Caitlyn. This ability has been in our DNA for centuries. Think about occurrences of Déjà vu, or people that claim to be able to bend spoons with their minds. Not every story is a fabrication. It’s just a lesser form of what we are. Some of us can quicken the healing process. You’ve heard of people that claim to be miracle workers, haven’t you? While there are a lot of frauds out there, there are some that are generally capable, but for whatever reason, their bodies have not taken the full leap that ours has.”

She decided to play along. “So, how do you figure out exactly what I am? What I’m capable of?”

“Basically, we won't be sure what you can do till you start the mentoring process.”

Caitlyn's brow furrowed. “The mentoring process?”

Garrett grabbed a chair, indicating for her to do the same. She shook her head no.

He frowned faintly at the rejection. “Every one of us that go through the Awakening has been given a mentor, to teach us, to learn from. That mentor helps them with the Awakening and follows them for weeks prior to make sure it is as smooth of a transition for them as possible.” He broke eye contact for the briefest of moments with her. “That's why I am here.”

“So, you are saying that you are my mentor.”

“Yes. I am here to guide you and to teach you. Could you imagine going through this on your own? We try to find every Potential before they Awaken. It can be a very daunting task.”

“So when I met you several weeks ago, you just pretended to be my friend.” Caitlyn responded sharply, unable to keep the hurt tone out of her voice.

“I didn't
pretend
anything, Caitlyn. It was easy to become friends with you. You are a very likable person and a good one at that. While yes, our initial meeting in the bar was premeditated, our friendship was… is, genuine. Becoming your friend first is not a requirement. I became your friend because I like you as a person. I am fond of you, Caitlyn.”

She made the decision to turn the doorknob. She needed to get out, she was suffocating and he was mad as a hatter. The walls were closing in around her and she recognized that she was having a panic attack. She fled from the apartment as fast as her feet would take her. Garrett quickly rose from his seat, following her.

She practically sprinted out of the main entrance to the building. She thought that the fresh night time air might make it better, might clear her head, but it only made it worse. Caitlyn was assaulted by the sound of the cars on the street, feet shuffling along the pavement, and the putrid smell of the garbage can by the door. Her eyes scanned the scene in front of her. Just like with Garrett, everything was sharper, clearer. She could see that even in the dark, the building that was across the street had small fissures throughout the foundation that were too small for the human eye to see. Caitlyn could pick out the individual blades of grass from the yard down the road, and could smell the cherry pie they must have had for dessert that evening from inside the house.

Could he be telling the truth? Was she really some evolved human with super abilities? She knew that all of this was not normal. It was all too much. Caitlyn bent her head down between her legs, resting her palms on her knees. Shaking, she felt like she was going to be sick. She wanted to make it stop.

She felt a set of hands touch her shoulders lightly, steadying her, raising her body back up. Concern outlined Garrett’s face. “It will be okay. I know this is a lot of information to absorb and we have barely skimmed the surface. I am sure it feels like everything is flying out of control and you are holding on for dear life. The best thing to do right now is take it day by day and it will get easier.”

She saw the truth that was in his eyes. With a deep breath, she knew she needed to make a giant leap of faith. Caitlyn was not one for taking leaps so blindly. “So, where do I go from here?”

“Well, that is up to you. We suggest that you take time out of your real life to absorb all of this and to train. The Trust is
very
well funded and will pay for your sabbatical. But of course, there are others who feel they cannot do that for personal reasons, and we don't force it. But whatever you decide, I will stay where you are, guiding you.”

Again, furrowed brow. “Trust Corporation?”

Garrett shook his head and winced a little. “Ah... I can see I am going about this all wrong with you.” He rubbed his forehead. “Sorry, I've never mentored anyone before and well, apparently, I need a little finesse. Let's do this. Remember that beach you took me to a week ago?”

“Yes.” That was the day that Garrett had opened up to her, telling her about his childhood, his virtually non-existent father, his compassionate mother, and being an only child. Caitlyn wondered now with frustration how much of his past he had made up and had manufactured to get in her good graces that afternoon.

“Everything I told you that day was the truth. I may have left things out, but I never lied to you.”

The words rang clearly and loudly. She was startled. She had been staring at Garrett the entire time and his mouth had never moved, never wavered even. He looked at her with an amused expression.
“Telepathic, remember? You don't know how to block your thoughts yet, so I could hear yours unintentionally, just like you can hear mine now. Don't worry, I am big on privacy, so it will be one of the first things I will teach you. I hate people that try to pry, and in the Trust, it's important that you know how to block thoughts. There are certain factions that would love to get the information that is stored in here.”
He pointed with his index finger to his head.

“Factions?”
she thought. She could not believe she was communicating telepathically. This was insane.

“We will get into all of that later. There is so much information for you to learn and I don't need my student getting sensory overload on the first day
. That would go over great with the Council.” He commented dryly. Caitlyn was surprised when he stated that last part out loud.

“Shall we?” When Caitlyn still hesitated, he thought to her,
“I promise you can trust me.”
He extended his hand out to her.

Sighing, she placed her hand in his as he pulled her to a standing position. She was going to have to have faith in him. She just hoped the trust was not misplaced. They walked over to his truck and climbed in.

T
hey drove to the beach in relative silence, leaving Caitlyn to digest everything that had happened over the past few hours. If Garrett could hear her thoughts, he kept it to himself. Having him hearing her thoughts was the least of her worries at the moment.

Caitlyn did not know what to make of all of this. On one hand, she was terrified that something was happening to her that she could not control. Caitlyn liked being in control, knowing what was happening at all times. The fact that she felt so completely helpless to what was occurring was frustrating to say the least. On the other hand, it explained so many things. She had felt for so long that there was something more to her, something she could not fully explain. She no longer had that feeling. Beneath all the nerves, she had to admit to herself that she was a little excited to find out what she was capable of, what made her special.

The blonde Potential repositioned her body in the direction of the man who could show her exactly that. Garrett’s aura, for lack of a better word, was barely there. It was a light blue, almost clear. She wondered if everyone who was like them had the same aura, or if it was unique to him. She noticed for the first time how confidently he carried himself, how he stood just a little straighter than other people, even in the relaxation of his vehicle. His eyes, though focused on the road, still held the constant mirth they always did, but she also noticed they held something more, something deep. Pain? Anxiety? Caitlyn was not sure she would ever find out, but she wanted to. She had a feeling that it might solve part of the mystery that she felt was Garrett Stevens.

They pulled down the familiar dirt road just as they had a week ago. Garrett got out of the car, opening her door. He bowed dramatically, and she could practically feel the excitement radiating off him as he exclaimed with a flourish, “Let the training commence.”

“Wait.” She said. Caitlyn did not budge from the passenger seat, her mind racing as it tried to figure out exactly how she should proceed.

He paused, watching her carefully. “Okay. If you aren’t ready, I understand completely.”

She shook her head. “Yes… I mean, no, I am really not ready, but I want to learn. But before I do, I think I need more answers. There are a lot of questions that have been running around in my head.”

“Of course you do. I would be worried if you didn’t.” He offered his hand to her as he helped her climb the rest of the way out of the gray truck. Garrett motioned for Caitlyn to follow him as he walked to the front of the car, sitting down on the bumper, his hands resting on either side of him, looking straight ahead over the cliffs into the dark night. “What would you like to know?”

“I need to know if you are telling me the truth… about all of this. I need to know if I am going crazy, or hallucinating, or if this is really happening to me.”