Chapter seven~ BLOCK
"I don't know…" Rob paused for a second and then continued "I don't even know how she looks like"
"Would a photo help?" Mike replied quickly pulling out his wallet even faster and taking out a photo of Aiko that was in it.
"Yeah I think so" Rob replied taking the photo from Mike.
He started studying the photo, as we all stared –especially Chester and I- not believing that this nightmare could be over soon and that we'd finally get to know where Aiko is. I felt relieved on some level that it's not up to me anymore to find her. The thought of seeing her again made me feel something I've not felt in a really long time. It could have been happiness, but I wouldn't know that I haven't felt it in a really long time.
Rob sure took his time studying the photo. It was a photo of her and Mike when they first met. It was actually their first time to see each other ever. Mike was wondering around taking photos of things that got his interest and then he saw her. As he put it later on "She had some sort of magnet power that I just couldn't resist." He took her photo without permission and when she turned to yell, she froze. I was there and that was the only time I saw Aiko like this. I started to speak for her when she just kept staring at him and he stared back but she pointed at me to shut up so I did waiting for an explanation. "Its okay" she said after a few seconds of just looking at each other's eyes. Then he leaned beside her and held the camera away from him to take the picture of them both also without her permission. He thanked her with a charming smile and the look in his eyes was like he was falling in love or something. If I didn't know better I would have thought he's her lover. Later we found out that he and Chester are our next door neighbors and that's how…
"I think I can do it" Rob broke the silence and cut off my thoughts as well.
"Really?" Mike, Chester, and I asked in the same exact second.
"Yeah, I'm going to teleport there right now but I can't promise anything and I can't teleport her back with me either." Rob said sounding disappointed with himself.
"It's okay. Just tell us where she is and we'll go get her." Mike pleaded.
"Okay then" Rob answered and disappeared.
Not for long though. In a fraction of a second he was flying across the room. He reappeared in the exact same spot where he disappeared but he wasn't still. It was like he's being pushed by some unseen power. It pushed him all the way to the kitchen counter where he hit the wall and landed on the counter breaking everything on it.
We were in a shock, frozen, paralyzed for a few seconds before we rushed up to help him. I was the first one there, he was barely conscious, probably because of the hit on the head that he just had. He also had a long cut along his arm probably because of the glasses that he landed on.
Before I could touch him to move him and help him he started elevating. I was beyond feeling surprised now with everything that's happening. I turned to see where the others are and I found my explanation. Chester was helping his him using own unique way. He was raising his hands in a strange way consistent with Rob's movements in the air and I realized that he was moving Rob with his newly acquired powers and the rest of them were making room on the couch for Chester to land Rob on.
As Chester carried, or elevated, Rob across the room I stared in wonder. It seemed so not real. Everything that's happening to us is too unbelievable for anyone to believe even if it was right in front of you and you're watching it with your own eyes.
I went to get the first-aid kit while the rest of the transfer took place. When I got back Rob was conscious but his arm was bleeding a lot. I started working on it, cleaning the wound as he started talking.
"There was someone else with you when the meteor landed." It wasn't a question as much as it was a statement. He seemed fairly sure of it.
We were silent for a moment trying to collect our thoughts to answer, when it took us long enough, he continued.
"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked, seeming a little bit angry.
"We… um… didn't think it was important." I hesitated.
"And why is that?" Rob asked.
"Because he's dead." Chester answered in Rob's same angry tone.
"And how exactly do you know that?" Rob asked, sarcastic.
"Because the meteor landed on the guy exactly." I answered a little bit angry too. I did not like his tone.
"Didn't you people learn anything from my theory on that site?" Rob yelled. I couldn't figure out why he was so angry.
"What's going on exactly? Where are you going with this?" Mike asked, impatient.
I was still working on Rob's arm while Brad and Phoenix sat in ominous silence. Their silence was uncomfortable, it felt like there's more to it than just…silence. Rob opened his mouth to say something but Brad exchanged a look with him and as a result Rob didn't say anything. It seemed like it was Brad's turn to explain but he didn't say anything either.
"So?" Mike insisted when Rob still didn't answer his question.
"Oh come on! Spit it out already Brad!" Phoenix said.
"Okay, remember on Rob's site he said that meteors don't kill humans and that it kind of picks what it lands on or something like that?" Brad finally started.
"Yeah." Chester replied.
"Well then why did you think that the guy is dead?" Rob asked, still angry.
"We actually didn't think of it." Chester hesitated.
"Well you should have." Phoenix said.
"I'm not sure how to explain this." Brad started. "With every meteor that falls there's some sort of pattern… there has to be some sort of … a power collection if I may call it. There has to be active powers like ours with the exception of Kay since she can't do anything physical... yet. And there has to be inactive ones like Kay's powers and the block." Brad stopped talking as if he fulfilled his explanation although we still didn't understand anything.
"The block?" I asked.
"Okay, I didn't want you to know this so soon but…" Rob started and seemed lost in his words.
"What?" I was getting impatient and worried. I felt like I had a huge unpleasant surprise heading my way.
"You can do very much everything any of us does, but only if we're around." Phoenix explained but I still didn't understand. He continued when he saw the confused expression on my face.
"Okay, remember when the lights flickered a while ago and Brad left for the bathroom?" Phoenix asked.
"Yes." I replied, still confused.
"That was you causing it." Phoenix said.
"Excuse me! Didn't you say Brad can control electricity? He was the one doing this not me!" I said defensively.
"It was my powers but you're using them. See, you can imitate our powers when we're around you and you'll learn how to control them with time. You only used them now because you were really nervous. Emotional stress tends to cause that." Brad answered trying to comfort me.
"Still you didn't explain anything about the block!" Mike said.
"With every meteor there's a power collection, there's a psychic and a block and a bunch of active powers. In this case Kay is the psychic and the block is the person who the meteor falls on and he has the ability to block the powers of the rest of the group. Sometimes it's only physical block and sometimes both physical and psychic block." Rob said.
"Huh?" That was all I could manage.
"Well, you can contact Aiko through dreams so if he's only a physical block that would mean that you would be able to contact her, but if he's a psychic block too then he won't let you get through to her like he did with me." Rob explained.
"How do we know if he's physical or psychic?" Chester asked.
"He's physical that's for sure!" Rob said looking at his arm and then went on. "That meteor that fell on you seems very strong. I'm saying that because of Kay's powers. Usually it's only either an empath or a telepath or the tele-dreaming power not all three combined. So, I'm not really sure that the block would be weak and have one kind of power or strong and have a combination like you do. The only way to find out is to try." Rob said.
"Try?" I asked.
"You'll have to be trained first but then you'll be able to contact her." Rob replied.
"So, each meteor has a collection of powers that is divided into 3; Active powers, a psychic and a block. The strength of each of them depends on how strong the meteor was and the position of each one while it hit. And our meteor is different because I have a combination of powers. And how exactly do you know all this?" I asked after trying and failing to make sense of it all.
"Long story, I'll tell you later." Rob replied.
"Still that doesn't explain why you couldn't teleport to Aiko." Mike said after a long while of silence.
"No, actually it does! The block "blocked" me!" Rob said.
"Why?" Mike asked with a horror-struck face.
"I don't know!" Rob replied.
"Does that block have to be with Aiko to block you?" Mike asked and I understood why his face looked so horrified.
"Yeah, like Kay has to be close to people to hear their thoughts" Rob explained.
Mike looked horrified and angry at the same time as he turned to Chester and started yelling.
"Does that mean that Aiko… my Aiko is now trapped with your filthy murder suspect?"