The Vision - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I awake on a couch as my eyes quickly adjust to the lighting of the room. The most often time for me to use my vision was when I first wake up, but only for a few seconds. Like now, I could see two blue, two greens and a yellow person before my eyes adjust and start to take in more important details. By the looks of it I was either in a small library or a rather large and well stocked office. I was lying on a soft brown couch and there were five people crowded around the desk, murmuring in low voices. Before I had time to tune into their conversation one of the men nudges the other and nods in my direction. Eyes swivel to me and the man who had been nudged takes a step back from the desk. I recognise him as the man from the party and the driver of the car. He was the one who had chased me. His hair was sun bleached blonde and green eyes. And a well built body, I was surprised he hadn’t caught up to me when I had run. He was blue.

I quickly sit up straight and adjust my dress.
"Good evening-" There was an elderly man sitting behind the desk where as the other people looked young, my age or a bit older. There were three boys and another girl.
"Where am I?" I interrupt the elderly man.
"At the Poolside Temple."
"Which is where?"
"About half hour from city limits."
"How is your head?" Asks the blonde man from the party. I wave his question away though it was tender and I had a massive headache. I rise and walk to the desk, trying not to show how nervous I felt.
"Why am I here?"
"We want to teach you."
"Let me rephrase. Why did you kidnap me?"
Silence.
"How’s your head?" Asks the same blonde man. I throw him a angry glance and turn back to the elderly man, waiting.
"We have magic too, you know. Everyone in this room possesses powers. Some-"
"Yeah, I got that. Blue, blue, green, yellow, green." I point the people out in turn, hoping I didn’t make a fool of myself. Well, what else could the colours mean? And who cared because I was out of here on the first bus.
"How did you know that?" The elderly man’s eyes open wide.
"It’s a miracle, praise the lords." I hold up my hands to add to the sarcastic drama. The blonde man grabbed my arm roughly.

"How-" Before he finished the first word I had swung my left fist up and punched him on the cheek.
"Don’t touch me!" He stumble back, nursing his cheek, but it wasn’t a hard hit. I took some self defence classes but that was my left fist.
"Ok, I think we got off on the wrong foot." Interrupts the blonde lady, who, along with the other man, had been standing and quietly taking in this encounter.
"Yeah ok, you chased me, kidnapped me and knocked me out. You really think I’m going to shrug my shoulders, say ‘ah well.’, and let you start again.
"Well let’s try it." Says the other man quietly. He steps forward, I don’t flinch back.
"I’m Paul." He holds out a hand which I shake slowly.
"Bree." I introduce myself. He nods and steps aside.
"I’m Kelly." Says the blonde with spirit, vigorously shaking my hand. I nod warily.
"Adrian." Says the blonde, not moving any closer."
"And I am Walter. Pleased to meet you." The old man bows his head slightly.
"Well, wow, it was just super to meet you all. Can I go now?"
"We were kind of hoping you would stay." Says Adrian. I narrow my eyes.
"Why?" I had a bad feeling, and I always paid attention to my feelings, for obvious reasons.
"We want to train you to use your magic. To help you really rein your powers." My eyes narrow into slits. He wasn’t lying but there was something he wasn’t telling me.
"What are your powers." Walter encourages. I hesitate.
"I have a kind of lucky charm, sort of seeing the future. I can feel what’s going to happen. And I have a vision, I can see people in their real form." Well, that sounded about right. "We want to help you, Bree. To train you, nothing more." Now Kelly was outright lying. What more could they want from me? To use me? Hmmm….
"You have had a long night, Bree. Let Kelly take you to a room."

The one named Kelly led me to a room that looked like it belonged in a motel. Too impersonal. But I couldn’t sleep. All I could do was pace nervously and try to focus my mind. Something wasn’t right, my gut told me. But I couldn’t quite put my finger on what. So as I fruitlessly paced the sun rose and after a while Paul and Adrian came to get me.
"Walk with us, Bree." What choice did I have? I hesitantly follow them out. Through the dusty corridors made of matching grey stones and out into the bright sunny day. How could anything go wrong on a day like this.
"Tell us, Bree, have you ever done any magic? Spells, curses? Don’t worry, we won’t old anything you have done against you, even if it involves the spirits of another realm." I had no idea what Paul was talking about but it didn’t sound good. They were leading me through a forests with big round trees but little scrub. There was no path.

I was nervous because Adrian carried a bow with arrows on his back. They could have been hunting innocently (enough) but something warned me not to think so. Those arrows looked sharp, deadly. I swallow and play along.
"You mean like dark magic?" Adrian thinks slowly.
"Sort of, have you ever done dark magic Bree?"
"No, but I always wanted to." I say, pretending to be shy. "Have you?" I perked up, suddenly pretending to pay full attention to them. They hesitated for a long moment.
"No, not called up the spirits." The buzzer in my head went of loud and clear, almost blocking out their next words. "…against most magic laws."
"Oh. Is it, like, illegal or something?"
"Something like that." Paul answers, looking into the forest ahead. I see Adrian grinning evilly. I shudder, this was freaking me out. I had to get out of here.

We keep walking in silence, venturing deeper into the forest. The trees overhead keep us mostly in shadow from the daylight, but it lit up the leaves to make a lovely green glow over us. Again I thought, how could anything go wrong on a day like this? The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and I was panicking out of my brain. The silence continues, we had been walking for probably fifteen minutes now. We had stepped over fallen logs and trees. I wonder how they knew where they were going. I was desperately trying to think of a plan, but came up with nothing spectacular. Eventually the stress levels rose until I blurted out.
"I gotta pee." They both turn to me in surprise, I realize there was one on either side of me. Almost like an escort. I blush.
"Ok." Adrian says, not really answering an unspoken question.
"Um, so, wait here?" He nods and Paul sits down on a tree stump, resting his feet. I wander off to my left a fair distance, as there was little scrub. That’s when I saw him.

Actually I almost missed him, he just caught the corner of my eye, he was crouching beside a tree. I involuntarily gasp. Swirling around to face him. We were only twenty metres from the other two men, I wonder if they heard me. The man motions for me to be quiet and slowly rises from his crouch. I stay perfectly still, watching him.
"Bree? What’s wrong? I heard something." It was Adrian, close, maybe ten metres. I jump.
"I am hear to help you." I turn back to the man. His voice was deep and smooth. Only now do I really look at him.

Hw was wearing an all black, robe looking thing. He had brown, messy hair, a strong jaw and a killer of a body. Literally. He must to Thai Kwon do or something. Serious muscle going on. Over all he looked hot but not trustworthy.
"Step away from him Bree. He’s dangerous." It was a familiar buzzing in my brain that caused my mind to finally kick into action. Adrian was directly behind me, I was between him and the mystery man. The mystery mans eyes flick to him then quickly back to me.
"Come to me." He says clearly.
"He is here to hurt you, Bree. Come to me."
"I won’t hurt you." Adrian was lying, the mystery man was telling the truth. But it could be a kind of play on words or something, I still didn’t trust him.
"Bree. Get out of the way."
"Come to me." Says the man again. I didn’t move, either way.
"Bree get out of the way, I don’t want to hurt you." Lie.
"Come to me."

The moment hung in the air, waiting for my answer. Or my move. I did neither. But I still thought it was a little early for such radical action. There was a whir and a white hot pain in my right shoulder. I gasp. I hear Adrian grab another arrow and start to reload. And then, completely not under my commandment. My hand lifts, reaching out towards the mystery man. I always believed in a higher power, and it seemed this higher power wanted me to go with the gothic, mystery man. My hand reached to him and he took it, quickly embracing my and spinning around so he was between me and Adrian. I momentarily noticed that this was an odd move.

I could feel blood pouring out of the messy shoulder wound. I had the faint impression that I was lying on top of the mystery man, and felt sorry that I was probably bleeding all over him. But as the fog messed my thoughts up even more I fell into a deep, dark slumber. My life completely in the hands of the cute-looking mystery man.

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