Chapter 13

Saturday morning after yet another completely restless night, I took the gang out back into the field again. Today was a new day and I hoped that the demons haunting me at night would disappear once again so we could continue on with the practices.

She hadn't come home until a few hours later that day. She cried and told us about how angry she'd been. How she started to throw things and found that she could control them. Everything got out of hand when she became too ambitious and lost her perspective. She lost her restraint in her rage.

Though we were all slightly more terrified this time around, Mrs. Sullivan's letter helped a great deal. Realizing that Chloe had in fact contracted the first infection while on a family trip with her mother and the almost identical power gave us great insight into her own skill. Secondly, knowing that the mind control was the key to the latter ability was not only a paradox solved, but also an amazing start off point.

Three days ago, we had determined how to access the telekinesis. When Chloe had been in every situation where the ability surfaced she had no recollection of the command. It became clear then that it was external. It was the only thing that was responsible for her forgetfulness. When Chloe had stopped the hay bale from crashing into me, she hadn't told it to stop she had told herself to stop it. Since the object is inanimate and nonliving it can't take her order, which was why she had failed all the attempts before that.

The day before yesterday, she moved a spoon and coaxed it to fly. She knew how to do it and in the meanwhile was completely sane. For the first time, optimism started taking to me. Could we actually defeat destiny?

"I know you guys are all excited about this, but Frisbees…really?" Her hands on her hips, defiantly.

"Today's lesson is going to be direction." I picked up a painfully vibrant pink disc off the grass. "They're light and aerodynamic which are two basic factors we don't need messing you up right now." I grabbed her hand and lead her to where I had set up a stack of Frisbees for her. A distance away down the field Clark was stationary, awaiting further instruction.

"You're too far away, Clark!" She yelled for him and he complied milliseconds later appearing again only 5 feet away.

"Alright, take this." I handed her the plastic disc. "Start when you're ready."

She outstretched her hand, palm upwards. Eyeing it intensely, she remained unmoving. "Rise" she said to the object.

It didn't budge.

"It's you, remember? You have to order yourself."

"Right." Without turning away or remarkably even batting an eye, she tried once more.

Slowly it lifted up, hovering and then dropping a little, repeatedly in that motion. "Control it Chloe. Keep it steady."

"I'm trying." Her gaze grew exponentially more concentrated. I could almost bet she was sleeping with her eyes open.

It held in place inches above her hand and, without waiting for more directions, went in a straight line beaming for Clark.

Instead of watching the miracle she performed I kept my eyes focused on her, on her movements to see if there was anything external I could see to clue me in on what was happening inside her mind.

Her eyes appeared glazed over and I wondered if she was in another mindset or if she was still coherent. Was it possible to carry on normally and also use her ability?

I motioned for Clark to back up more until he was 20 or so feet away.

I positioned myself by her side so I could speak to her more easily. If this was all meditation she was going to have to handle stress and oncoming stimuli.

"Chloe, is this hard? Are you tired?" I spoke delicately into her ear.

She didn't say anything at first until I noticed the frost in her eyes diminish and the Frisbee tremble as well. "Yes and hell yes." Her voice was rough and broken as if she were bearing a heavy load on her back.

Pushing her extended arm down with my own, I watched as the disc began to wonder without her hand to guide it.

"Don't you wish you could just give up?" I was testing her to see how much true focus she had.

"I wish you'd stop shooting your mouth off so I could pay attention." It was now moving at random with no real direction or restraint.

For some reason I found myself getting annoyed with her. After all, I was only trying to help her. "What're you doing? You're letting it go." She wasn't trying hard enough and at this rate she'd be in that hospital bed in no time.

The object fell again, almost to the ground 'til it halted a few feet from it and then rose again only to move sideways away from us.

"Concentrate!" I kept picturing that moment, Clark and I looking on from behind a solid glass and Chloe dying there, slipping away from us. So she had to try harder than this. She couldn't die! What would happen if she did?

"I can't!"

"You're not focusing enough!"

"I can't!"

It hit the ground finally and Chloe turned to me with tears in her exhausted eyes. I felt like I was punched in the gut with remorse. I had gotten too carried away.

Clark zoomed over, which was just what I needed. "Pete, leave her alone." He put a protective arm around her waist and they walked off together, leaving me alone.

Maybe I should give up now, pack up my things and head to Wichita before I make things any worse. I don't want her to wind up hating me for it and right now that seemed like the path I was sprinting down. Obviously I can't cope with the lack of sleep and stress that face me here.

If this is destiny, then these things will work themselves out, right?

I don't need to be here to oversee her impending death or her triumph whichever it may be.

I turned my back on the farm and marched on in the opposite direction.

They don't need me.

They've never needed me.