Chapter Six
A few days later, Tony Jr. was sitting in a Starbucks, drinking a Venti latte.
A young man in a wheelchair and his girlfriend came into the coffee shop. The couple were both in their early-to-mid twenties. They were both athletic, slender, and trim. The young man had close-cropped dark brown hair. His girlfriend had long dark brown hair.
The young man set the parking brakes on his wheelchair and situated himself at the table. His girlfriend left him alone at the table to get some coffee for the two of them.
Stand up, a deep male voice commanded in the young man's mind.
The man in the wheelchair looked around. Who's speaking to me? he wondered.
Stand and walk, the male voice commanded telepathically.
Are you kidding me? the man in the wheelchair thought. He looked at his useless legs. I can't.
STAND AND WALK! the male voice boomed telepathically in the young man's mind. The man in the wheelchair glanced around nervously.
The man in the wheelchair glanced around. Who's there? he wondered. Who's speaking to me?
Tony Jr. sat at a nearby table, staring at the man in the wheelchair and drinking a Venti latte.
"Scott, are you all right?" the young man's girlfriend asked as she returned to the table, carrying two coffees.
Scott released the parking brakes in his wheelchair and pulled away from the table.
"What are you doing?" his girlfriend asked as she set the coffees down upon the table.
"Gonna try something," Scott replied as he shifted his legs in his wheelchair.
It CAN'T be, he thought as he moved his legs from side-to-side.
"What?" his girlfriend asked. "What are you going to do?"
Scott set the parking brakes on his wheelchair, bent over, and folded up the footrests. He set his feet upon the ground, stood up, and braced himself against the table for support. He then took a couple of steps towards the table.
His girlfriend gasped. "Oh, my God!" she exclaimed. "You're WALKING!"
Tony Jr. got up, threw the coffee cup away in a nearby trash can, and left the building.