Chapter 8- The Raccoon
#9 of Soul
1
Kayde couldn't believe his eyes. Emma has markings just like him. He didn't know how to feel; excited to see someone else who has then or mad because she would hide it from them. Don appears to be the same way. They quickly open the door. "Emma!" She turns around and quickly covers he ears out of shock. Don's voice has scared her; Kayden can see it faintly in her Aura. "How could you hide that from us?!"
"Oh, hey guys," she says with a nervous chuckle. "How are... y-you doing?" Don moves over and uncovers his sister's ears. An orange lightning bolt and black paw print see the world again. Kayden carefully walks towards her, nudging Don away. He gets down on one knee and puts his arms on her shoulders.
"Do you have abilities like me?" Kayden asks calmly. He hopes so. He thought he was the only one in town with an ability no one has ever seen. Looking at her brother and back, Emma seems to be calculating what to say next. But she doesn't say anything, she just nods. "What is it?"
"I'll show you," Emma says. She leads the boys out of the bedroom and into the living room. She sets her notebook on the couch and walks a few feet away. Kayden looks with curious eyes. Don looks like he's about to wet himself.
Emma sucks in a deep breath and puts her fingers to her temples. She stares at the notebook. Her ears, like Kayden's, start to emit a small orange light as the boys start to observe what's happening. The notebook starts to lift. A couple feet in the air and Kayden is actually amazed. It must be how Don and Emma felt when they first learned of his power. Now here's a little girl with telekinesis and he's no longer alone.
"That's amazing," Kayden whispers. Emma slowly sets it back down and her ears dim.
"You mean you're not afraid?" Emma asks.
"Of course not. I've been worried that I'll never find another person like me in my entire life. Now, I actually have." Kayden goes up and picks Emma up, hugging her tight. She looks up at her brother with pleading eyes, her pupils asking for any sort of words from him.
Don huffs out a breath and walks up to them. He reaches a paw up and pets his sister on the head. "That's pretty cool," he finally says. "But why couldn't you tell us? I mean, look at Kayden, with his cute flashlight ears and an his soul/reading ability."
"I know, it's just I was worried what you guys would think of it," Emma says suddenly becoming shy.
"Awwww, sis, you don't have to be nervous. Mostly because we have a game changer right here." Kayden let's out a small giggle from the joke. He now's that Don is just trying to lighten things up a little.
They boys quickly pack their things to leave. Wednesday already and they missed school. Oh well, Kayden thinks, better than going there and having to confront that badness that's sure to happen. Dom and Emma help Kayden out of the small building and, with the help of latex gloves, they get the door shut.
"So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Don says to Kayden.
"I guess." Kayden quickly hugs and kisses Don before they depart, Kayden going west and Don and Emma going north.
2
Kayden couldn't help but think rapidly. Emma has the ability to move things with her mind. This, of course, will develop over time like Kayden's power has. He can still feel his energy shifting, changing. He hopes that when they're done, he can make anyone happy with a snap of his fingers. But for now, the dream is just a dream.
Kayden's mom gave him a scolding for missing school yesterday and he promised he'd be there today. He didn't want his mom to think that he's getting addicted to drugs or something and that's why he ditched. But the real reason had to stay in his mind at the moment. Any revealing and things could shred apart and destroy him.
Kayden sits in the cafeteria alone. Don called him earlier and said he got sick the flu overnight. The lonely fox wraps his tail around himself and caresses it with a few fingers as he eats, wishing the softness of Don were in his lap like the night he told him about his ability. He doesn't really eat the lunches they have here because all school food sucks; Kayden just eats a few granola bars and a bottle of water he keeps on the Sid wig his backpack. It isn't much, but it's enough to keep him going the rest of the day.
A tray places itself next to Kayden along with that familiar voice. "Hello, Kayden Marcola." He looks up and sees the grey-furred raccoon that is his semi-rival: Vinny.
"Hey, Vin, what're you doing here?" Kayden asks. He's not really in the mood to question why he's at the school despite graduating.
"What? An old pal can't sit next to an old friend?" he asks.
"Friend? You and I hated each other."
"Key word being 'hated'. Since we're no longer at the same school, I see no reason why we should fight academically. Besides, socially, I think we'd do ok, wouldn't you say?" Kayden didn't like to admit it but Vinny is right. They have no more reason to fight so they shouldn't not try to go up the friendship ladder. But as for Vinny, he's got a long way to go with Kayden.
"So, what brings you to the school?" Kayden attempts at small talk, but it's mostly curiosity.
"I'm here for a credit for public speaking for my college degree."
"They offer that to freshman?"
"You'd be surprised." Kayden takes a drink of water. "Anyways, since this is my free period, I figured why not try to make up with my old friend-slash-enemy?"
"I still don't trust you fully but... whatever floats your boat." Vinny eyeballs Kayden's hat and raises an eyebrow.
"What's the dorky hat for?" Vinny asks. "I seem to remember you saying that you hated hats because they make your ears cramp up."
"It's none of your business." What's going on in his mind, Kayden thinks to himself. He sneaks his energy around tries to get ahold of Vinny's Aura. However, no contact is being made so it's a bit harder. It's like there's a huge cloud of fog blocking Kayden from the soul. He grunts when he feels a small tug on his chest when he uses too much energy.
"You ok, Kayden?" Vinny tilt a head but doesn't do the paw-on-the-shoulder gag most supportive people do. Kayden nods and says he's fine but keep looking. The little glimps slowly gets bigger in Kayden's eyes.
"I'm just a bit tired," Kayden says, resting his head on the table. He closes his eyes and concentrates harder on reading him.
"Same old fox," Vinny says with zero shock in his voice. As he goes back to eating, Kayden clears the majority of the fog and Vinny's Aura is shown. Too much energy being used. Kayden opens his eyes. A bunch of yellow with small dots of green are shown before him. His breathing increases and he quickly let's go before anyone can raise questions.
"Dude, are you seriously ok?" Vinny says with a little concern. Kayden's energy slowly returns. As it does, he raises his head and nods.
"Yeah." Kayden yawns a genuine one which gives him an alibi. "I'm just tired. School can do that to you."
"True." The raccoon nods. "I know how much of a pain the the ass it is to have a boat load of homework. Even now, college isn't really helping with that. It's just making things even worse than they need to be." Kayden pretends to listen even though he really couldn't care less about what Vinny was saying. When he looks over at him, he's got some paper out and writing a few numbers on it.
"What's that?" Kayden asks. Vinny gives him the page which has 10 numbers on it.
"Well, if you aren't busy, I figured you could have a chat buddy so... here's my number." Kayden takes the paper and puts it in his pocket with small intention of calling it. The bell soon rings, indicating the end of lunchtime. Kayden throws the granola wrappers away and recycles his empty water bottle. Despite the weird reunion with his old rival, all Kayden can think about is Don. Is he ok? Is he not? Does he want to see me? Am I not allowed to see him? Those were just some of the questions running through Kayden's mind as he headed to class.
3
When Kayden returned home, he wasn't really in the mood for anything. Homework, talking, anything. He lies on the couch, staring at the ceiling. His tail in paw, twirling it's softness around his fingers. He has no idea what to do right now. His mom went to the grocery store real quick for some reason he couldn't remember. He thinks it was something about plastic wrap.
His cell phone goes off, interrupting his thoughts. He groans and answers it, putting it on speaker. "Hello?" Kayden asks.
"Hey, Kayden, it's Emma." The voice fills the living room with her 10-year-old squeakiness.
"Hey, Em. How are you?"
"Good. How was school today?"
Oh nothing, Kayden thinks, just met with an old rival who wants to be friends but I call bullshit on that. Oh and plus I tried to use my ability to read others without contact and my energy was drained for a while. I even failed a test in history as a result. But all Kayden says is, "Fine. You?"
"It was ok. Don encouraged me to see what my ability has given me so far."
"And?" His ears perk up, curious and hungry for more knowledge.
"I can only lift things a few feet off the ground." She sounds a bit disappointed but isn't that obvious about it.
"Don't worry, your powers will change over time," Kayden says. Then he slightly giggles when he says, "by the time you're my age, you might be able to move skyscrapers with your mind." Emma laughs at the other end.
"You never know." When the laughter dies, the silence is born. That is, until Em breaks it again. "It's kind of scary, you know."
"Oh? How so?"
"We have these unique, crazy powers and we can't even tell anyone. You know, because of the danger that could become the consequence. People might get angry because you know how people get with those who have more power over them. Just ask the government." Kayden let's out another feminine giggle at that comment.
"True," he says. "But what's worse is the burden that gets carried on your shoulders as a result. For me, using my powers for good has all I really ever cared about."
"I know. I want to do the same thing," Emma quickly replies but not in a suspicious way like back at their secret hideout. "I just don't know how I can use my powers for good." Kayden can hear the ears being pinned down. He knows that feeling. So many options with an ability and it's tough to know where to start.
"If you want my advice, I suggest just keep practicing your ability," Kayden says. "At least it might develop more the more you use it. Besides, practice makes perfect."
"Ok. What did you do when you first practiced your power?" Emma asks.
"You can imagine how many 'bro-hugs' I've gotten when I got my power. It was easy to sneak a peek at someone's Aura as they're hugging me. As for my ears, I'm still working that out myself." After that, the room grows silent. Kayden's mind wanders as he misses the little pup's voice as the silent treatment grows.
"Do you ever wonder why?"
"Huh?" The question takes Kayden by surprise. He's been asked about his ability before but mostly about his power itself.
"I said do you ever wonder why?" Emma asks. "Why were we given this power and why these ones? Why now?" Kayden actually sits up and thinks. He's never really asked why his power came to him out of seven billion people in the world. Why was he given the power to change/read Auras? Why did Emma get telekinesis? What're the markings for? Now Kayden's curiosity peaked and its winning out. These are the questions he wants the answers to.
"I'm not sure," Kayden says, "but I do know one thing."
"What?"
"That if you and I have abilities, then there are others in the world that are exactly like us. Powerful, with the markings on their ears to prove it." Kayden was almost ranting at this point, his heart racing a little. He was growing excited at the thought of other people being just like him.
The problem is how to find them.