Chapter 10- The Others
#11 of Soul
1
Kaleb got a drink and sat down in the booth across Kayden. The white fox could only stare and wonder at the older wolf. How was he getting in his mind? What does he want from him. Kaleb just looks at his drink and gulps it down in a few seconds. He clears his throat and his deep mysterious voice fills Kayden's ears. "So, I assume you want to know about the seizure and the message." Kayden widened his eyes and remained speechless. How the hell does he know what he's thinking. "I'll be happy to explain. Come with me."
Kaleb stands up and holds his paw out to him. Reluctant and still unsure, Kayden takes his paw anyways. Kaleb leads Kayden outside and into the alley where they first met all those days ago. If felt forever to Kayden. "I know, it has been forever," Kaleb says.
"How?" Kayden isn't sure how to finish his question. It's like this man knows what he's going to say before he says it. "I mean... I don't... you just..."
"Hey." Kaleb puts his paws on Kayden's shoulders. "That's why I came here to explain to you what's going on." Kayden shys away from his touch but perks his ears up to listen. The older wolf kneels down and bows his head, his fingers gesturing at his ears. Kayden turns his head to look at his grey ears. On the left is a blue lightbulb and on the right is a black dream cloud.
"You have the markings?" Kayden asks. Then he whispers, "You have a power."
"Indeed I do." Kaleb stands up and looks back at him.
"What is it?" After Kayden asks that, his head starts to feel funny as if a door has been unlocked and felt someone come in. I can send messages through my mind into others, Kaleb's voice filled his head yes his muzzle doesn't move. And I can read your mind too. "Woah."
"I know. I was fascinated with it myself when I first discovered it. And you've already demonstrated your ability to me." You have the power to control emotions. Kaleb's voice continues to ring in Kayden's ears. The young fox looking amazed and speechless. He tries it back at him.
Can you read my mind, he thinks.
Yes I can. Kaleb's voice rings out.
Do you know any others who have abilities?
No. Do you?
Yes. My... uh... Kayden scratches the back of his head, unsure of how to say he's dating another boy but then again, his ears make it obvious. My boyfriend's sister has an ability.
Interesting. What is it? Kaleb asks.
Telekinesis; she can move things with her mind. It felt weird having a conversation inside his head instead of to each other aloud, but it still made Kayden happy knowing there are more like him among the city.
"Let's take a walk," Kaleb says, this time out loud. Probably to avoid the weird verbal silence. He holds his paw out and Kayden grabs ahold of it. He feels as if he can trust him completely, but isn't sure where he's taking him. He gets his answer right as he thinks it. "We're going to meet others like you."
2
A dark, red apartment complex comes into view. The windows smashed out, the doors boarded up and the place smelling of old cheese and rain and wet wood. In the back of the building is an opening through the boards covering the back door. The sounds of rats and squeaking comes from within the walls but that doesn't scare Kayden. Sure he is nervous but he's desperate to meet people like him.
Kaleb ducks under the boards covering the back door and helps Kayden crawl under. Once inside, the room is dark. However, something tickles Kayden's ear drums a little, almost like a vibration. "C'mon, Kayden. Time to meet your people." Kaleb urges him through the doorway and into the hall.
"What's that noise?" Kayden asks.
"Us." Kaleb heads for a door marked "stairway". He opens the door and heads down a single set of spiral stairs. A light at the bottom confuses Kayden because this building looked like it was out of order or something.
Kayden soon finds himself in a room filled with ominous yellow light. Catchy music blares in the room and it really catches Kayden off. The room isn't what he expected at all. He thought is was going to be some sort of creepy room, instead it's some sort of mini party room down here.
Two red leather couches sit in one corner of the room and a mini bar sits on the opposite side. A pool table rests in the back. A pod sized TV and a boom box sit on a big black table in the corner. The walls are peach colored, but not peach scented. With all those details in the room, Kayden only noticed one thing immediately: the other people.
The furs duke it out in the game of pool with one observer. A fourth stands behind the mini bar, looking like he's the owner or something. He's a purple-ish Siberian husky with two gold earrings in his left ear. His frame is slender, his tail perking and swaying. He wears all black clothes and a white watch. "Hi Kaleb," he says, his voice not high but not low either. "Who's the kid?"
"Hey, Niles, this is Kayden." Kaleb pats him on the shoulder.
"Um, hi," Kayden squeaks out, not sure whether to look him in the eye. "Um... do you have an ability like me?"
"You tell me," Niles says. He holds his paws out towards Kayden and he suddenly feels a small gust of wind as if someone just ran by him. He tenses up and wraps his arms around himself. Niles turns around to show his markings: a raindrop and the sun. "Cool, right? I can control weather with these powers."
"How about we introduce him to the rest of the gang?" Kaleb suggests. He rests a paw on Kayden back and the two lead him to the other three in the back.
"I win. Again." A black bear says, sounding a little arrogant. He wears a blood red shirt and cameo shorts. Even with all that one, anyone can see how huge his stomach is. Kayden looks at his ears for markings and finds both of them dyed green cameo. Of course, it isn't dye, he reminds himself.
"I don't understand how you do it!" A female sounding vixen is across the table from her opponent. Her muzzle a little white. Her fur a glossy brown with a purple ring in her right ear. Her tail fluffy with a couple black stripes on it. Her clothes a bit teenage: a sky blue shirt with a white skull on it, semi-covered with a jean jacket. Her pants blue with holes in them.
"Hey, you two!" Kaleb says. He seems to get their attention before continuing. "I have another with us. This is Kayden." He indicated the young see fox in his arm. "Kayden, this is Amelia and Big Boot." Kaleb gestures to the vixen and bear respectively.
"Why's he called Big Boot?" Kayden asks. Kaleb snakes his paws around Kayden's head until they rest at his cheeks and he points his head downwards until he sees the black bear's feet, which are covered in two, big, steeled-toe boots. "Oh."
He's harmless, Kaleb says in his mind, just don't get him too riled up. He's actually a nice guy.
"Nice to meet you, Kayden," Amelia says, holding her paw out. He takes it and shakes it. "Wanna see my power?"
"Uh... sure." Kayden takes a step back with encouragement from Kaleb. Big Boot sits in the pool table, it creaks a little bit. The guy can't be less than 450 pounds, Kayden thinks. Amelia runs her paws and kneels down. He grips one of the table legs and lifts the table above her head, seemingly with no effort. "Oh my!"
"Relax, bud. I'm fine," Big Boot says. "She just has super strength. Trust me, she does this all the time."
"You got that right," Amelia says. She sets down the table without breaking a sweat. Kayden looks at her ears and sees a barbell and the pound symbol. He then turns to the larger bear.
"What's your power?" Kayden asks.
"I'll show ya." Big Boot rests his arm on the pool table, the black fur obviously seen on the green velvet that it lies on. However, the black slowly fades into the same shade of green, completely mesmerizing Kayden. Big Boot brings his arm up and the green stays on his arm. "Cool, right? How awesome is camouflage?"
"Very," Kayden says. He can change his fur color to his surroundings, Kaleb says in his head.
Like a chameleon? Kayden thinks.
Exactly.
Kayden then eyeballs the one who was observing the pool game. A white shepherd who wears a dark blue shirt and grey sweatpants. She sits on a crate, her head halfway buried in her arms. At this angle, Kayden can see the markings on her ears: a red X on the left and a blue 2 on the other.
He slowly walks up to her and stops before her. "Hi," he says. She looks at him with scared eyes and quickly hides herself from him. Kayden turns to Kaleb. What's wrong? Was it something I said?
She's shy, Kaleb replies. Mostly because of her power.
What can she do?
She has the ability to manipulate abilities themselves. She can temporarily take them away or she can duplicate them. That's why she's in the corner all the time, she's worried she'll use her powers against other.
What's her name?
I don't know. We've had her in the group for two months and she never barked her name. We've always called her Zero because that's how many decibels she ever gives off.
Maybe I can fix that.
3
Kayden turns to Zero, or whoever she is and he reaches out and gently pets her shoulder. "You don't need to be afraid of me," Kayden says. "I'm nervous just like you." As he soothes her, he uses his energy to reach out into her Aura. It makes Kayden shiver for a moment, unsure how he's supposed to react but her soul seems to be filled with a dark void. Black everywhere. Although Kayden has never experienced fear at an extreme level, the others in the room admire as black light glows from his ears. Kayden can feel the color becoming permanent in his fur.
"What in the world?" Big Boot asks.
"What does it mean?" Amelia says in wonder. Kayden keeps his paws on Zero and turns around to face the others.
"She's afraid," he says. "But don't worry, I can fix that in no problem." Kayden searches deep within himself to find green, a color Zero seems to need desperately. He grasps a hold of it within himself and uses his other string of energy to wipe away the fearful black she had in her Aura. He helps spread only green from his mind. As soon as he does, his ears change from glowing black to glowing green. He lets go of her Aura, hoping it worked.
Suddenly, her ears perked up and she looks at Kayden with big green eyes. "Are you ok?" he asks. Zero slowly turns her body and looks at the other. What happens next is not something Kayden expected. She takes a deep breath, raises her paws and makes a few gestures with it.
"Hold on," Kaleb says. He concentrates on her and Kayden knew he was talking with her privately. After a second of just seemingly exchanging a few concerned looks, Kaleb looks at the others in shock. "I did not know this at all."
"What?" Amelia asks.
"Zero. She's deaf," Kaleb says.
"Then how'd you know she didn't like using her power?" Kayden asks. Kaleb points at his own head and he understands immediately.
"Zero, I mean... Beatrice." Kaleb turns back to the shepherd. She must've told him his name in his head. "I had no idea you were deaf. Why didn't you ever tell me?" The room falls silent but Kayden knew that wasn't what Kaleb was hearing. "I see."
"What'd she say?" Big Boot asks.
"She said that she was nervous to tell others because she was already referred to as a freak when her powers showed up." They go back to their silent conversation for a while before Kaleb lights his face up as if he remembers something. "I almost forgot." He turns to Kayden. "You have a friend who has an ability, right?"
"Yes." Kayden wasn't sure where this was going. But he didn't like the sound of the next sentence.
"Why don't you bring her here?"