Emotionally Charged (2 page)

Power was still out and with it all street lights. I was already a couple of blocks away, where older terrace housing backed the main street. I could see a lot better than I normally could in the dark and I almost giggled at how good I felt. I made such good time I slowed my pace and enjoyed the excitement of the solitary darkness. This night belonged to me. I helped people tonight. I knew people were suffering, but the city felt alive now.

Every sign of damage from the quake just excited me more. I’d grown to hate this part of town. Hate might be too strong a word, but lately all I saw here were lines of wanky shops catering to the dull middle class, middle aged who wanted to pretend they were chic and richer than they were.

Like Mom with her lifeless owl zoo. When I was younger I asked her why she didn’t get a real owl. She looked at me like I was crazy. “Oh no, they’d be so messy and difficult. You have to feed them real meat.”

Shouldn’t life be like that? Difficult, messy, and real. 

I didn’t want my life in half measures. I wanted real affluence, real excitement, real romance. I wanted a rich, handsome prince to sweep me away to far off lands of adventure, intrigue and decadence. To save me from becoming settled with a fake life like my mom and dad. Sometimes I wondered if they even loved each other anymore, or whether they cared about me any more than Dad’s work or Mom’s shop. Everything about their life felt dulled.

On the main street the shops were at least all still standing. Some had cracks running up pastel painted fronts, splitting quirky logos with their jagged smiles. No cars drove through, thanks to the late hour and the arty mosaic archway that led into the boutique district lying crumbled across the road up ahead. A lot of windows were broken, spilling glass onto the street and making window displays sparkle as though the shabby chic furniture or gourmet cupcakes had been sprinkled with diamonds.

Not a lot of windows. Every window. I figured it made sense that earthquakes would break windows, but just around the corner I hadn’t noticed windows broken on the rows of townhouses.

Already alert, I froze when a beam of light shone out of a building up ahead. I didn’t need to see the exact pastel shade of the shop to know it was Duck Egg Blue. The light jiggled then vanished. The sound of shattering echoed in the street followed by a boy-like chuckle.

“Hey!” The word came out before I stopped to think. I yelled again in my loudest voice. “Hey, get out of there!”

I may not like these shops, but it was my mom’s shop. The hell I was going to let someone trash or loot it. Getting called out would make them leave anyway, right?

The possibility that it wouldn’t only struck me when five younger-teen boys in hoodies jumped out through the cleared window, bringing with them an avalanche of retro dinner sets from the display. I didn’t recognize the guys from school, and they didn’t dress like boys from this area either. More like guys from the housing estate a couple of burbs over who sometimes crashed parties around here. One or two held torches which they shone my way.

Sure they might be fourteen or fifteen years old, and I was taller than a couple of them, but it was still five scary poors-ville thugs against one. Why did I feel like I could deal with this? I still felt invincible from earlier, but this could be dangerous. Feeling invincible only made it more dangerous, a point proved when the boys headed for me instead of making a guilty dash. Cocky kids.

“Stay back, I have mace.” I bluffed, reaching my hand into a pocket of my trench coat. I grabbed for my phone instead, swiped it on, but couldn’t dial on the touch screen without looking. What would they do if they saw me dialing? Back off, or come faster? It didn’t seem worth the risk when I wasn’t sure the emergency number would even redirect and work with most of the network down.

“Sure you do, legs. Like you’d be carrying gear like that.”

I cursed how clingy these jeans were. I took steady steps away as the boys came closer. Their faces were shadowed under tightly drawn hoods. They looked like they were in uniform, all dressed in black. There were no distinguishing features visible apart from slightly varying heights.

“I’ll call the police.”

“Relax, we’re just out for some fun.” The chuckle in this one’s voice was the same as the one who had been laughing at smashing things in Mom’s shop. His idea of fun worried me.

Glass crunched on the concrete footpath behind me and I spun around to find one had snuck up on me. He made to grab for my arm and I stepped out of his way.

Anger shone from him and my body flared with adrenaline. The five of them had me penned in now. They took turns pushing at me or grasping for me, but somehow I managed to slip and dodge through their attempts to pin me down.

I called out for help into the ghost town but doubted any one would hear.

I ducked under a wide swing from the closest guy, meant to hit me rather than hold, and pulled my keys out of my pocket in one hand and phone in the other. I made a wild jab at his chest with my longest key while I looked at my phone screen, thumbing in the emergency call. The key sank into flesh, startling me. In shock as my hand warmed with the guy’s blood, I paused too long and was pulled to the ground by my jacket collar. My dropped phone skittered out of reach.

I barely felt the fall, but when I called for help again there was no air in my lungs for it.

When one of them grabbed my shoulder and rolled me over, I took his hand in both of mine and twisted. I swear I heard bones break. I also thought I heard footsteps approaching, fast. I might have just been hearing things. Just wishful thinking as the guy cradled his wrist, called me something I won’t repeat and kicked me in the side of the head.

***

I think I blacked out for a bit. Sounds of scuffling faded in and energy surged through my body. Snapping my eyes open I watched a new man in a white button down shirt throw one of the hoodies against a power pole. Actually pick him up and throw him. The others were already running, or stumbling, away.

The last kid slumped against the pole and, dusting his hands, my savior turned around to reveal the face of a male model. His shirt accentuated his v-shaped chest like it had been tailored and his blond hair sat perfectly as though he hadn’t just dealt with a bunch of looting delinquents. His sleeves were rolled neatly just below his elbows, and although he only looked about twenty, the watch on his wrist was way expensive. I’d seen it in classy magazine ads.

“Are you all right?”

Even his voice was dreamy.

I tried to sit myself up so I wasn’t so awkward and prone, wanting to be more presentable, more attractive for this god-like figure. “Hngh. Ow. Crap.”

Damn it.

The guy chuckled, and his smile had my heart jumping. When he grabbed my hands and helped me up with perfect care, I thought my heart would lose it entirely.

“You were pretty impressive there,” he said, bending to collect my phone and keys from nearby. “When I heard someone calling for help, I came as quick as I could. Saw most of the fight while I was coming down the street. I thought you had them dealt with on your own for a minute.”

“Ha.” Why couldn’t I make proper words anymore?

He handed my phone and keys back to me, giving me a scrutinizing look. “But really, how do you feel?”

How did I feel? I’d just been thrown on the ground and kicked in the head, but actually I felt… “Good? Does that mean I’m in shock?”

“Maybe. Maybe something better. My name is Jake.” He took my hand, gently cleaning blood off it with a tissue and I forgot to ask what was better and whether I needed a blanket and hot chocolate in case it was shock.

“Livvy,” I replied, without stuttering, which was a miracle.

“Let’s find you somewhere to recover then, Lovely Livvy.”

Guys had tried that line on me before and it always sounded corny until now. This guy’s voice was so tasty I could lick it. He looped my arm in one of his like a Victorian gentleman and I trotted obediently alongside him. I would lie if I said I didn’t pretend to need the support more than I did, just to squeeze a little closer. I was going to make the most of this, in case I woke up and discovered it was a concussion induced dream. Or simply that he was just being nice. Of course he was just being nice though. Someone like him wouldn’t be interested in someone like me.

We walked to the end of the street and sat at a bus stop on the corner. A heavy concrete bench covered in mosaic tiles, designed to bookend the fallen archway at the other end of the strip.

 My mind went blank for anything to say. Jake kept looking me over, and I could read amusement and satisfaction all over him. He broke the probably only seconds long silence that felt like forever.

“I bet you feel better than good, don’t you?”

I shrugged. I did still feel pretty tingly. “I think I’ve been on an adrenaline kick most of the night.”

He chuckled. “Getting kicked like you did, you aren’t surprised you’re already feeling okay? You don’t realize how fast you were moving back then, do you? And did you know you almost ripped that guy’s hand off?”

“I did
what
?”

“It’s okay. It was self defense.” Jake paused for a moment. “What if I said you could be more than normal, something different, better, possibly even super-natural? Would you freak on me or-”

“Would I think it was a dream come true? The latter.” I nodded with wide eyes, waiting to see what he’d reveal. I half expected he was setting me up for some grand punch line, but there was an energy in the air I couldn’t deny. A magic I wanted to embrace. And if this guy had the key to that? Dream. Come. True.

He made that delightful chuckle again and raised a perfect eyebrow. “How about a visual demo?”

Jake took my hand and pulled me off the bench. Turning back to it, he gave it a swift kick in the centre. The bench cracked down the middle and fell inwards in a kaleidoscope of tiles and crumbled concrete. The bookends matched even more now.

I stared, mouth open, and he waited for my response with a smile.

“Where are we supposed to sit now?” I giggled, almost hysterically. “And also, what the how?”

Down the road, headlights broke through the darkness and a car swung around the corner and headed down the street. Jake waved at it and turned back to me.

“You’re like me, like us.” He gestured to the car, speaking fast as it approached. “You’ve always been able to read people’s feelings, right? You feel stronger when people are angry, or full of energy when others are scared. When emotions surround you, you think faster, move faster, heal faster.”

I found myself nodding to his words. This wasn’t just a dream. I have always been like that. My one unique feature, hidden on the inside, was more special than I had ever realized. His words repeated in me.
You’re like me, like us.

“It’s real. I can tell you feel it. We’re Empaths. That’s why we’re here. We’re always on the look-out for other people like us, and the easiest time to find them is during a natural disaster when emotions are heightened. It’s often the first time Empaths really experience their power, like you have tonight.”

The black SUV skidded to a stop beside us and the front side window opened. I couldn’t quite see inside but heard a man talk. “We’ve been driving round looking for you for ages. What’s the deal, Jake?”

Jake tilted his head to me and simply said, “Got one.”

A girl not much older than me practically burst out the back door. “You really found one? Zomigosh, it’s a girl!” She squealed and came toward me through a gust of shimmering red hair as it fell down around her from her leap out of the vehicle. The front doors opened and two guys got out. Every one of them was stunning. I made an effort to keep my mouth from hanging.

I reached out a hand to the girl to introduce myself and she wrapped her arms round my shoulders, hugging me as she jittered a little dance. “I thought I might have been the only one. Don’t get me wrong, I love my boys, but I’ve been dying to find another girl ‘path.”

 Jake cleared his throat. “Everyone, this is Livvy. Liv, that’s Emma, over there’s Donny.” He nodded to the tallest guy, whose velvety black skin rippled with muscles that barely seemed to fit under his clothes. “And this jerk is Jamie.” Jake grinned at the last guy, a few years younger than all of them. They looked like they could be brothers. Jamie smirked back at Jake and shook my hand. Donny just nodded silently.

“So, you guys come to natural disaster areas to help out, and hope you find more people like you- like us?” I couldn’t believe I was talking to a team of real life superheroes. I needed to sit down but the bench option had been removed.

“That’s pretty much what we do,” Jamie said.

“How did Jake find you? How long have you known what you are? Did you already know? Are you from around here?” Emma overflowed with questions and I couldn’t find a gap to actually answer any.

Jake cleared his throat dramatically. He leant on Jamie’s shoulder and gave me a bashful smile that made my knees weak. “I know you just met us all, and I know it’s late, but we’d really like for you to come with us.”

I exhaled a little too loudly. “With you? With you where?”

“Just to hang out for a bit, chat some more. I know I unloaded a lot on you all at once. I’d love to talk it over more with you and explain things properly because there aren’t many of us out there. Us Empaths need to stick together. We’re stronger together. That’s why we’ve got our little team going here.”