Chapter 53: No Strings

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Stephanie shook the rain off her umbrella and knocked on the apartment door. 'Please let her be home Father,' she prayed.


Riley sat up. She had fallen asleep to the sound of Kristopher singing softly in her ear. Normally she would not have put herself in a situation like that, where she could have slipped up and slept with him, but she had been so tired. She moved his large arm and stood up carefully, attempting not to wake him. Riley opened the door.


"Stephanie, something happen?" She asked quietly.


"Dakota skipped town, Danny and Brandy said to talk to you. I-I need to see him." Stephanie said. She shivered.


Riley's mouth dropped. Normal people are getting smarter and smarter, she thought. "Come in, don't stand out there and freeze." She said.


They walked into the living room. Kristopher had rolled over on his side on the couch. He mumbled. Riley shook him gently. He opened his eyes. Beautiful gray eyes. "Sweetie go lay down in there on the bed," she pointed to her room.


"Sorry," he said standing up groggily.


"No, it's OK, it's just more comfy there," she said. He patted her head and disappeared into her bedroom.


"Boyfriend?" Stephanie asked.


"Yeah, I'll introduce you sometime, oh and that's not my room it's a guest room, don't worry," Riley said quickly to Stephanie's worried face. "Sit down." They sat. "You want anything to drink?"


"No, thanks I'm fine."


Riley sighed. "So what's your question," she said.


"I was talking to Danny and Brandy this afternoon, I was asking lots of questions but they kept changing the subject. I finally made them answer me. They said they didn't know, but you would, or I could at least talk to you." Stephanie explained.


"Why do you want to see him so badly?" Riley knew the answer, she could see it in Stephanie's face. She wanted to know why he seemed so different.


"I- there's something about him, I've always liked him a lot, but there's something different, I have to know the truth, I have to see him," Stephanie's word's echoed Riley's thought's.


"This doesn't have anything to do with Xander does it?" Riley asked.


"Xander, who's that?" Stephanie asked.


"Never mind." Riley stood. "Give me just a second, I'll be right back." She left the room.


Stephanie stared around the apartment. Candles lit the corners and no lights were on, except in the kitchen. She couldn't see into it from the couch because of a wall that just covered it. She stared at the picture on the coffee table, all sketches, and there were wooden figures sitting on top of a small book shelf. No TV, she thought. How weird. Stephanie heard footsteps behind her and turned expecting to see Riley, but that's not who she saw.


"Hi," Dakota said sheepishly. He looked terrible. His dull eyes and chalky white skin gave him the look of one who'd been in the grave. His shirt hung off of him more than usual as if he had lost weight and it and his hair appeared dark with sweat.


"Dakota, what happened to you? Why'd you leave?" Stephanie asked standing up.


Dakota walked to the couch and flopped down, exhausted. Stephanie sat as well. He licked his dry lips. "I have a secret to tell you," he began. "When a human gets and adrenaline rush they are able to do amazing things. Mother's lift entire cars off of their children and so on. 'Fight or flight' is what the health experts call it." He took a deep breath as if he couldn't get enough air into his lungs. "Well part of the human race has been missing out. If they could get scared enough, and take their rush to the next level, reach out to the racing heart, the flowing blood, they could do something ten times more amazing that any of the stories you hear on the news. Some humans have, some have the power to do things most people can only dream of."


"What?" Stephanie asked.


"Some people have the power to reach into your very mind, some, can control objects. Now hear me out, when I was twelve I caught a life threatening case of pneumonia, I told you about that remember? One night, I got so scared, I was so sick, I couldn't breath on my own, I was vomiting, I thought I was going to die, right then and there. I got that rush, with all my heart I wanted to live, so I used every bit of strength in me. I felt something strange, like a double rush, so I reached for it. Well it turned out I had only been freaking out I probably would not have died, it wasn't my time to go. But then, suddenly I could move things with my mind-"


"Are you crazy?" Stephanie asked.


He didn't say a word, he just looked over at the book shelf and lifted it into the air.


"What are you lo-" she saw the book case. "Oh my goodness." She walked over to it and waved her hands on all sides.

No strings.

She stood transfixed for a moment.

Dakota set it down and waited for her next reaction. Stephanie walked back over to the couch and sat down.


"You aren't crazy," she said.


Dakota laughed. "No, and I wasn't lying."


"Can you do anything else?"


"No, not yet."


"Why didn't you tell me before?" Stephanie asked.


"Because of this group of people like me who make rules to protect us. They are a lot older and some think they are wiser." Dakota explained.


"Hey," Kristopher said coming in. "We are wiser. At least some of us." He walked into the kitchen.


"Anyway, they have a rule that says we can't tell normal people about our powers." Dakota said.


"Why?" Stephanie asked.


"I don't know, there may be an apocalypse or something, asked one of them."


"But if you're careful about who you tell then what's the big deal?" Stephanie asked, the shock had started to wear off.


"That's what I said," Kristopher exclaimed coming back in with a glass of milk.


"Are you, on the council?" She asked slowly.

Kristopher looked around suspiciously. "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." He walked out of the room dramatically.


Stephanie looked at Dakota. "Was he serious?"


"Hah, no, Kristopher is a Counsel member, but he doesn't think their way." Dakota said.


"So, does Julia's death have anything to do with...all this?" Stephanie asked.


Dakota looked down. "Yeah, they didn't like me falling in love with her, so they sent this guy named Xander to get rid of her and me-"


"Xander?" Stephanie asked.


"Yeah, he's got a thing against me. Anyway, they took control of some wolves and killed her, then my parents. Xander has the power to absorb other people's powers so that's why I couldn't do anything. He was going to arrest me and take me back to the council but David gave me back my powers and I ran. It was all my fault, I should have been more careful with what I did, but..."


"It wasn't your fault, you said you couldn't do anything, don't feel that way," she touched his ice cold cheek. "So you aren't allowed to love a normal person, and you are encouraged to lie?"


"Pretty, much," he said and laughed.


"Next question, why do you look like you went to hell and came back again?" Stephanie asked smiling.


He shook his head. "Xander tortured me. Then he nearly killed me, you do the math. Oh, and I forgot, he took half my powers, so what you just saw is all I have," he smiled.


"How are you going to get them back?" She asked.


"I don't know, David and I haven't discussed that yet and he's still trying to find Xander and his partner Karma," Dakota sighed. "Besides, according to the Counsel, he has every right to take them."


"Wow, I'm sorry, I wish there was something I could do to help," she grabbed his clammy hand and squeezed it.


"There's not, just being here helps." They sat in silence for a moment, just holding hands.

Dakota's heart raced.

I have to make sure they don't find out about her. He thought. They won't kill anyone else because of me. I'll die before I let that happen.