Chapter Three
Rochester, New York 1987
"Trent, huh? Cool. Sit and chill with me." Elesiah said motioning forward, as Trent plopped into a seat on the other side of the booth. "What kind of name is Elesiah? I've never heard of it before." Trent said casually. Elesiah laughed. "Let's just say its been around for awhile." Trent nodded, glancing at the bracelet looped around Elesiah's wrist. "Nice. How long has that been around?"
Elesiah suddenly remembered the shock that the bracelet had sent to him. 'Could he be in need of an ability?' Elesiah thought. "It's been around for awhile. How old are you?" Trent straightened up proudly. "Just turned 13, actually. Mom says that I'm almost full grown." Elesiah laughed. "Cool. You wanna try the bracelet on?" Elesiah asked, pulling the jewel off of his wrist. Trent nodded, and slid the bracelet over his wrist. Immediately, Elesiah's stomach grew queasy; he felt like he was going to throw up. Elesiah watched Trent study the bracelet, but nothing seemed to be happening to him. A few seconds, Trent handed the bracelet back to Elesiah. "Cool bracelet. Hey, I gotta go, but maybe I'll see you around sometime." Trent said standing up. Elesiah nodded. "I'm going to need someone to show me around. I'm kind of new here." Trent nodded and waved as he walked outside into the rain.
Elesiah stayed sitting in the booth, staring at his wrist. 'I thought he needed to try the bracelet on? I knew I'd get sick, but not that fast. Why did it signal me if it wasn't Trent?' Elesiah thought to himself. Silently, he paid for his hot chocolate, gathered his things and headed outside in the direction of his apartment.
Rochester, New York 1987 (Trent)
Trent walked out of the coffee shop, and slipped the umbrella out from his sweater, opening it and holding it up. "Good thing Mom caught me before I left this morning." he said to himself, starting to walk home. For a 13 year old, Trent knew his way around New York better than most. He had been here his whole life. Which meant he also knew there were some bad parts, but he considered himself lucky to not be connected with those kids. Hooligans, his mom called them.
This particular day, Trent wanted to get home as soon as possible; he had gotten a new game. He walked the main streets for about a mile, and slipped into an alleyway. Climbing over the wall, he would save walking several blocks. Trent hoisted himself over the wall, landing on his bottom getting down. Although it saved time, this was one of the alleyways you didn't want to be caught in. Trent brushed himself off and ran out of the alley quickly. As soon as he hit the main street again, he sighed with relief and continued walking home.
Next Day
Trent stretched out of his bed, quickly getting dressed. He knew his mom was already at work in the coffee shop. That's why he had been in there yesterday. Trent always walked his mom to work unless she had to be there earlier then he woke. He slipped into a pair of sweats, and began the walk to the shop, hoping to get some pancakes from the chef there. He didn't have to hope, because he always got some.
Remembering the night before, Trent decided to walk down the same alley he had before. "Nobody was there last time, so I'm alright now." He started to jog, until he reached the wall. Lazily, he bent down to tie his sneakers, and stood back up. And came face to face with an older teenager. "What you doin' boy? You lost or something?" the teen said tiredly, but with anger. "Uh, no. Just taking a short cut, you no." Trent said, trying to smile. It didn't work.
"Well you know you ain't taking shortcuts down here no more." the teen said, before he punched Trent square in the jaw. Trent fell to the ground. When he looked back up, there were two more boys joining the teen. Trent stumbled to his feet, only to be shoved back down by the second boy. "Where you going? You wanted a shortcut, didn't you?" the first boy said, as he kicked Trent in the stomach. The other two began to follow suit, kicking and punching Trent in any area they could.
Tim passed slowly for Trent. He knew they wouldn't quit unless he was dead. He lay as still as possible, trying not to whimper for fear the beating would get worse. Slowly, Trent feel himself start to give out. He closed his eyes tightly, and thought of his mom. 'She's going to be so sad now. She won't have anyone. I can't give in now.' he thought to himself. Immediately, his eyes snapped open. He hadn't noticed that the kicking had slowed and finally stopped. He glanced at the boys who appeared to be staring at him.
But then they started looking elsewhere, as if searching for something.. Or someone. "Where did that kid go?" the first boy yelped. The other two shrugged and started looking behind trash cans and things. "Don't worry about it. He won't come back down here for no shortcut." the first boy said as he walked off.
Trent waited until the boys were gone, before he struggled to his feet. He didn't know why they couldn't see him, but he didn't feel like asking. All he knew was that he had to get to his mom. Forcing himself to climb the wall, Trent again fell to his bottom. He picked himself up, and stumbled the rest of the way to the coffee shop.
Rochester, New York 1987 (Elesiah)
Elesiah had come back to the coffee shop, hoping he would find the source of the bracelets signals. He knew it hadn't been Trent, but he couldn't think of who else it would be. As he pretended to read a book, the bracelet started to shock him once more. He watched the door as it swung open and closed, but no one came in. Several seconds later, the men's bathroom door swung open. Elesiah stood and walked into the bathroom. It was empty, but he could hear grunts of pain.
"Elesiah?" he heard a voice say, and jumped. "Where are you?" Elesiah asked, glancing around. Then he heard a noise, sounding as if someone had fallen. At that second, Trent appeared, crumpled on the floor. "What's happening to me? Why couldn't you… the guys couldn't either… see me?" Trent said before he passed out. Elesiah sat beside the boy's side. "When you wake up, we gotta talk."