Thanks to those who reviewed! This one's for you. I hope you like it! x
Will took my hand, lacing our fingers together, and led us towards the 'mingling area' that had been mentioned in the video, so that we could 'get to know each other'. Ick. I had no intention of getting to know him- I knew exactly what he, and his family were like. I yanked my hand out of his hold- his presumptuous attitude was irritating. We weren't going to get together immediately- or ever, and he needed to accept that right now!
His face looked anguished as I extricated myself from his hold- storming off ahead of him in the hope of losing him in the crowd. I may have looked like a stubborn, spoilt child, but I didn't care. The sooner I could ditch him the better. Unfortunately, he caught up with me far too quickly- his long strides easily catching mine. Gingerly, he rested the palm of his hand on the small of my back, gently guiding me forward. I shot him a glare, and he smiled back angelically.
"Drinks are this way." He said, steering me through the crowd of savants towards the drinks stand. I didn't reply. The crowd was thick and we were pressed tightly against one another. I could just about make out the stand beyond the sea of bodies, but getting to it was an impossibility. Will could also see this, and he turned to look at me.
"I'll get the drinks. You stay here. Right here- don't move, I'll be right back." His hands lingered on my back for a while, as if unable to let me go. He turned towards the table, glancing back every so often to check that I'd obeyed his instructions. Like I was seriously going to let this chance of escaping pass me by? As soon as he turned back to face the table I made my move. Forcing my way through the crowd I began to move towards the nearest exit, but it was slow progress. I could hear his anxious voice behind me, but I didn't stop.
"Hey! Stop, wait!"
I kept my head down and carried on walking. He'd lose me easily in the crowd. A man tapped me on the arm and I turned to look at him.
"Miss, I think that man's shouting you." He pointed at the hulking giant walking towards me. The crowd parted easily as he passed- gazing at him as though he was some sort of deity. I gulped as he drew nearer. The crowd was thinner here, and I knew that with his muscular physique that he could, and would, catch me easily. The opportunity had passed. Damnit!
"What happened to 'stay right there'?" he asked, upset. His tone was tinged with an underlying annoyance. I shrugged- I didn't have an answer. Well, I did. I was trying to evade him, but if I told him that he definitely wouldn't let me out of his sight- not that he let me out of his sight now. He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated at me. I obviously didn't possess the attitude he was expecting his soulfinder to have.
"Look, I know we started off on the wrong foot, but I was wondering if we could start again?" His eyes were pleading, and I found myself nodding before I could stop myself. He smiled in response, handing me a drink that he'd grabbed from the stand.
"Where's yours?" I asked, taking the plastic cup from him and sipping it quickly.
"I was just about to grab one for myself when I looked over and saw my soulfinder moving away from where I told her specifically to wait from me." He looked at me disapprovingly, and I averted my gaze. "I was too busy chasing after her to care about a drink. I'm not about to let you slip through my fingers." I kept my eyes on the floor.
"Sorry" I muttered, attempting, and consequently failing, to sound sincere. Really I was only sorry that I hadn't been quite quick enough to lose him.
"Forget about it." He said. "We're starting over." He smiled, and then put on his cheeriest grin. "Hi, I'm Will Benedict." He held out his hand, and looked at me- indicating with his eyes that I was to go next, and should introduce myself. Like I was going to do that! He wasn't getting any details about me- I was having nothing to do with him.
"I'm Mary… Smith. Yes, Mary Smith." I said, using the first name that popped into my head. Mary? I internally groaned. I could pick any name, and I went for Mary? I couldn't have made myself sound more like a Grandma if I'd tried. He grinned at me.
"Well Mary, my middle name's Joseph- so we're clearly meant to be together."
Kill me now. It was all I could do to stop myself from pretending to barf. Mary and Joseph? Seriously? Who incorporates the Bible into their pick-up lines? He carried on, ignoring my lack of amusement at his comment.
"So, Mary, where are you from"
"New Zealand" I replied, feigning nonchalance. I took another sip of my drink.
"You don't sound like a Kiwi." He raised his eyebrows, confused. I didn't respond to his silent question. "Well, I'm from Colorado in the United States of America." His chest puffed up as he said it, proud of his heritage.
"That's nice" I say blandly, staring at an incident occurring over his left shoulder. He moved so that he was in my eye line, blocking my view.
"So what part of New Zealand are you from then?"
"Sydney" I said without skipping a beat.
"Really? I though Sydney was part of Australia." Shit. I was so busted.
"Listen" I paused, pretending to forget his name.
"Will" he interjected to fill the gap. His face fell, and I could tell that he was hurt I'd forgotten it.
"Yes, Bill-"
"It's Will." He interrupted- angry.
"Right. Whatever. Listen, we can't be together because-" I stopped. I didn't have an excuse that he'd approve of, and I wasn't about to admit that I knew what he'd done to Alice. If I did that then he'd be able to find me.
"Because what?" he asked, concerned.
"Because I'm a lesbian." I blurted out before I could stop myself. He stared at me for a moment, blown away by this surprise admission.
"What?" he squealed. I didn't know a male could produce such a high pitched sound.
"Yep. Mary the lesbian- that's me" I said, laughing awkwardly and swinging my arms. I was such an embarrassment to myself- there was no way I could ever be an actress. My lie was so badly acted that it wasn't even remotely believable. I tried to rectify the situation. "See that woman over there?" I asked, pointing to a small, middle-aged woman who was taking far too much interest in our interactions. She'd been glancing at us the entire time we'd been talking.
"Yeah" he replied, following where my finger was pointing.
"She is smoking! I'm going to go and ask for her number." He laughed awkwardly, rubbing his hand along his collarbone and underneath the collar of his unbuttoned plaid shirt.
"What? Are you homophobic or something?" If he was, that gave me yet another reason to hate him. I'd need a list at this rate.
"No." he said, refusing to meet my face. "I'm not homophobic at all. It's just that…"
"That what?"
"That the woman you have a crush on is my Mom." My face flushed bright red, and the plastic cup slipped through my fingers. No wonder she'd been paying so much attention to us- she wanted to see who her son's soulfinder was.
"Right" I squeaked.
"Yeah, she's been happily married to my Dad, who is her soulfinder, for over thirty years. Besides, I can tell you're lying- I just don't know why. Am I that repulsive?"
"What? No I'm not."
"Yes you are- I can tell. It's a thing between soulfinders- I know when you're lying to me." He looked at me, and I squirmed guiltily under his gaze.
"Right. Well, I need to go to the toilet now, so-" He grabbed my arm before I could move.
"No. Don't even think about it- I don't trust that you'll come back. Besides, don't you think I know that the toilets are right next to the exit?" I shook his arm off me. Cripes- evading him was going to be much tougher than I thought. He was so annoyingly persistent. Well, there was only one thing for it.
Now, I hated using my power. Yeah, it sounded great on paper, but when you thought about it, it was just plain wrong to force people to do things against their will. With me it was even worse, because I could make it so the victim had no recollection of me telling them to do it. I hardly ever used my power, and I was determined to keep it that way. But today… today was an exception. Closing my eyes I tried to enter his mind, to tell him to let me go. Unfortunately his shields were too strong- like thick lead walls, which I had no way of forcing myself through. He felt my attack, despite my attempts to be subtle.
"Hey! What are you doing?" He asked, with a slight hint of betrayal.
I needed to catch him off guard. If his shields dropped for just a split second then I could enter his mind, give him the command, and I could leave. Forever. I could return back to my life, and forget this horrible mess ever happened. I wouldn't feel guilty, I told myself. No, I wouldn't feel guilty for telling him a pack of lies, and running, even though it was a cowardly thing to do. Soulfinders weren't all that great anyway- he'd be fine without me. Anyway, why did I care? He was a Benedict- he didn't deserve any of my sympathy.
"Mary, what are you doing?" he pressed the palm of his hand to his forehead as I to try and physically prevent my mental attack. I smiled up at him innocently. I needed to do something unexpected, to catch him unaware and cause his shields to drop.
"This" I replied, grabbing the collar of his check shirt and pulling his lips to mine. He was shocked for a moment- his lips unresponsive against mine, before he began kissing me back with fervour, wrapping his arms around me tightly.
And that was all it took. The unexpectedness of my actions caused his shields to drop momentarily, and that was all I needed. I was in.
'Let me go. Do not follow me. Forget I told you this.'
The command took root in his mind. Satisfied it had stuck, I pulled my back from him, breathless. His arms dropped from my waist, and fell to his sides.
"Right Phil, I'm going to go to the loo now."
He nodded at me, dazed. His eyes were glazed over- that happened when I used my power on people, and it made me feel sick. I hated knowing that I could do that to someone. But this was different, it had to be done. Turning, I hightailed it towards the toilets, the exit, and my freedom.
Moving towards the exit I had to physically restrain myself from breaking into a run. Freedom was so close, yet it had never felt so far away. I didn't dare look back as I scuttled forward- I was petrified that I'd find Will chasing after me, even though it was impossible for someone to break one of my commands. People had tried, but they were iron-clad, and totally unbreakable. I kept my head down as I moved through the crowd. The tannoy sounded, saying that the next round of matching would begin, and so all that were left in the room were savants who had just found their soulfinders. Thankfully, this meant that they were so blissfully happy and wrapped up in one another that they didn't notice me brush past them.
Reaching the exit I barrelled through the double doors and found myself in the foyer I'd registered in earlier this morning. There were helpers with giant buckets full of donation money, and they were trying to collect more. A guy close to the doors shook his, the coins jangling around obnoxiously as his arm flexed, trying to catch my attention.
"Donations to help fund next year's convention. Every little helps Ma'am."
"Sorry, I haven't got any change" I lied, walking past him. Like I was going to donate any of my money to help this tradition continue. If it hadn't been for the convention I wouldn't be in this mess. I could only hope that the Net went bust, and no other conventions were ever held.
"Okay, no worries" he shouted cheerfully at my retreating figure. "Just don't forget to sign out Miss". Drat. I'd forgotten about that mandatory part of the convention. All savants were required to sign out after the convention was completed, to get you to update your contact details, and most importantly your relationship status. Soulfinders could sign out, and therefore take themselves off the list. Those who hadn't met their match then signed out and remained on the list for the next year. Unfortunately, I couldn't follow proper protocol. If I said that I hadn't found my soulfinder, then I wouldn't be allowed to leave. The rules stated that unmatched savants had to stay until all matching was complete to ensure that a match hadn't been missed, and I couldn't say I'd found my soulfinder because leaving without them was unheard of, and would raise too much suspicion. The signing out section was similar to the checkout section of a supermarket. There was a great row of desks manned by the helpers, and you had to pass through one to make it to the exit on the other side.
Now, I could easily use my power on a helper when I got to a desk. I could get them to think that they'd filled out my forms, so that I could escape without raising suspicion, but I'd already used my power once today, and once was enough. I didn't use my power lightly- I tried to refrain from using it at all. It felt wrong. So, instead I opted for the traditional method. I bolted.
Clasping my bag over my shoulder I propelled myself forward- launching myself into a full-out sprint. I raced through the gap in the barricade of wooden desks, and tore down the stone steps that I'd queued up earlier. I heard a commotion behind me, someone yelling at me to stop. But I didn't. I didn't dare look back. Instead, I concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. My feet pounded on the slabs, and I thanked my lucky stars that Alice hadn't forbidden me from wearing my converse. They made for the perfect getaway shoe, so sometimes casual was the way forward.
Shit. Alice! In my panic I'd totally forgotten about my baby sister. I'd reached the bottom of the steps now, and no one had followed me, so I settled for a fast walk back to the hotel. I was looking forward to lying on that massive bed and watching films before I had to leave for the airport. I opened my mind link to Alice, waiting to hear from her. It was much easier and quicker than phoning her. I needed to know if she was okay.
"Alice?" I asked. There was silence.
"Alice? Alice, are you there?" I called frantically, pausing mid-stride and debating whether or not I should turn and run back for her. I could take down the Benedict family. Okay, even I had to admit that that would be nearly impossible. Oh God! Why did I let her go with the Benedict's on her own? I shouldn't have let her- I should have insisted on going with her, despite what she wanted! I stood still on the pavement, the bustling commuters passing me by, and shooting me bemused glances at my stoic figure.
"Alexis" she replied, but I could sense that she was crying through the link.
"Alice, are you okay? What's wrong? Did they hurt you? I swear to God I'll kill them if they laid so much as a finger on you!" I growled.
"No, no Alexis. I'm fine. No, I'm better than fine. I'm wonderful, amazing, ecstatic, over the moon!" She crowed with delight. Well, this was a marked change from the depressed Alice that I'd known over the past year. I moved to the edge of the pavement, perching on a high wall that ran alongside it.
"What do you mean, Alice?"
"Oh, Alexis- the Benedict's didn't mean to kill Dragon. Yves' fire was meant to drive Dragon out. His death was totally unintentional- they thought he'd escaped the fire!"
"Are you sure, Alice?" I asked. I, for one, was not at all convinced. They could have just spun Alice a web of lies to conceal their true nature.
"Yeah, one hundred percent- they showed me what happened. They have this thing they do when they're all together- they sort of channel all their powers together somehow, and I saw Yves' memories. They weren't lying- I could tell because Sky had her power on the whole time, you know, that girl at security? So, yeah, it was an accident. And Yves felt awful. Phee too."
"Oh" I replied. I wasn't sure how to respond to the news that the family I'd hated with every fibre of my being wasn't actually evil. Not to mention the fact that my soulfinder then wasn't unquestionably wicked. Well that certainly threw a spanner in the works. Not that it mattered anyway. I'd made the right call. My soulfinder could have been Prince Charming, and I would have still taken the same course of action.
"And there's more, Lex!" Alice shrieked happily in my mind. "I've got a soulfinder!"
"What? That's not possible, Alice. We only get one- that's the whole point of soulfinders. Dragon was your soulfinder, wasn't he?"
"I know, Lex" she squealed, delighted. "But I've been given a second chance. I've got another soulfinder!"
"Alice, I know losing Dragon was hard, but you can't delude yourself into thinking that you get another soulfinder."
"Lex, I'm not delusional. It's real. The Benedict's told me. I didn't believe them at first, but now I know it's true! Crystal examined me- she's Xav Benedict's girlfriend, and she's a soulseeker." I knew exactly what a soulseeker was- they were revered amongst our kind. "She looked at my mind when I was seeing what happened in the fire, and she said she could sense a soulfinder connection- that she could see the severed connection between Dragon and I, but then she saw a new, more powerful connection. She said he's somewhere in Canada, and that he's my soulfinder! I don't know how it's possible, but I'm so happy, Lex! Dragon wanted me to be happy, that was his final wish, and fate has one that. Fate has given me another shot at happiness!"
I was flabbergasted. A second soulfinder was unheard of. But, it was brilliant! Alice hadn't been herself since Dragon's passing, and although she had improved since his death maybe this would be what she needed to fully recover, and return to the happy, bubbly Alice that we all remembered.
"Oh, Alice! I'm thrilled for you! That's brilliant, fantastic! I can't even-"
"Yes, I know!" she replied giddily. "I've been so lucky! Anyway, enough about me, what about you? How is he?"
"How do you know I've found him?"
"Alexis, we both know my visions are never wrong."
I knew all about that. "Yeah, I found him."
"And? So, where are you both? I want to come and meet my future brother-in-law!"
"He's at the convention."
"Okay, I'll come and meet you both. Just tell me where you're stood."
"Well, that's the problem. I… err, I'm outside the convention."
"Why are you there? Why is he not with you?" I don't reply. "Alexis, please tell me you didn't!" I remained silent. "Alexis! You've ran off, haven't you? How could you, Lex? The poor man! He must be distraught. And you promised me, Lex. You promised me that you'd give it a try!"
"I'm sorry, Alice. I'm sorry, but I don't want a soulfinder! I know you do, but you and I are different. I don't want to be forced into this. I'm sorry I've upset you, but I had to do it. Besides, he's a Benedict. I didn't know they were innocent."
"Well, now that you know he's not evil you can go and give him a chance. Or, at least tell him the truth- he at least deserves that. Don't run away like a coward- that's not you. Anyway, how did you run off without him? The Benedict's believe strongly in soulfinders, he wouldn't have just let you go." I waited for her to think about it. She'd quickly reach the answer without me telling her. She gasped.
"You didn't. Tell me you didn't use your power!"
"It's all I could do, Alice! He was so persistent, and I just wanted him to let me go home. I know it was the wrong thing to do- I hardly ever use my power, but this time it was necessary."
"Oh, Lex" she said softly. "The poor guy!" Mid-way through Alice's sentence I could feel the command I'd given Will beginning to slip, he was shrugging it off.
"Alice, he's breaking the command! How can he do that? No one can do that!" I said, panicked. With my gift I was able to see the state of the command, and lift it if I wished, from wherever I was. It was just when I issued them that I had to be within a few metres of the victim. I felt the command shatter- Will was no longer bound by me- he was no longer under my control.
"Alice" I whispered, frightened. "Alice, the command's gone. He's broken it. How can he do that?" Now there was nothing to stop him coming after me.
"It must be a soulfinder thing, Lex. He's immune to your powers." Then, I felt him breach my mental shield and enter my mind.
"Mary?" he sounded confused- he hadn't realised what had happened yet. I raised my mental barriers- blocking him out. He shouldn't have been able to breach my walls in the first place, but strengthening them was the only defence I had against him.
"He's gonna follow you, you know?" Alice said. "Benedict's are persistent. He won't let you go so easily."
I could sense Will's realisation at what I'd done to him through our link. Betrayal, anger and hurt smashed through me. The emotions were so strong that it was as though someone had taken a sword, and ran it straight through me. But then, I felt a much stronger emotion: determination. He'd made his mind up about something, and nothing was going to stop him.
"Alice, I'm going home."
"What? You can't, your flight doesn't leave until this evening, and it's only 12 now!"
"I'll get the Eurostar. You can buy tickets when you get there. I've got to get out of here."
"You can't run forever, Lex."
"I know. But I've got to try."
Jumping from the bench I began to speed walk towards the hotel, breaking my connection with Alice. Will was still administering a mental attack on my shields- trying to break through and talk to me, but for now they held strong. Keeping them up was sapping my energy, but I had to be strong. I couldn't let him in. The tingling sensation I felt when I was around Will had now lessened significantly upon entering the hotel's lobby, which was comforting. At least now I knew he wasn't nearby. Hopefully I'd never feel it again, then I could quite happily pretend today never happened as I'd be left with no physical reminders of my time in Paris.
Hopping into the first empty lift compartment I made my way to my hotel room. With shaky hands I slid the card into the lock, and walked in. I needed to get out of here- it wasn't safe to stay, and I knew my shields wouldn't hold for much longer. Pulling my suitcase onto the bed I began to pack, cramming everything back in, with no care. My toothbrush was chucked in alongside my pyjamas, and my clothes shoved in on top. I'd look forward to washing and ironing that lot when I got home. Glancing to see that I hadn't missed anything, I hurriedly yanked the zip until it closed, padlocking it for security, and wheeling it out behind me. The door shut with a bang behind me, and I jogged to the elevator to go downstairs and check out. My body was humming with a nervous energy- Will was mad when I moved from the drinks stand, if he ever found me I didn't want to know how angry he'd be that I'd travelled hundreds of miles to escape from him. I was scared, especially now I knew that my power didn't work on him- I was defenceless against him, totally at his mercy. As I stepped into the lift my phone rang and I answered it.
"Lex, just to give you some warning- I've just seen a majorly pissed off man, fitting the description of Will Benedict, leave the convention in the direction of your hotel."
I froze for a second, my hand hovering over the lift's buttons. How had he come after me so quickly? I'd barely left ten minutes ago. My heart pounded, and I felt the blood drain from my face. I snapped out of it, punching the button for my floor. Now wasn't the time to panic- I had to stay calm to get out of here.
"You there, Lex?" Alice asked.
"Yeah, sorry- I was just a bit shocked. Thanks for the warning Alice. I'll text you when I'm on the train."
"You should give him a chance, Lex. But I won't lecture you anymore, it's your call. Make sure you text me- I want to know you're safe."
"I will, don't worry. I'll see you soon. Love you."
"Love you too, Lex." And she hung up. I dropped my phone back into my bag as the lift doors pinged open. Striding out I dropped my key onto the reception desk. I didn't have time to fill out the appropriate paperwork. The tingling sensation was growing the longer I stayed here, which meant that Will was nearby. Shit. I ran out of the lobby, and looked for a cab. Thankfully an elderly couple were just exiting one, and so I managed to grab it. I chucked my bag in the boot, and hopped in.
"Eurostar terminal si vous plait Monsieur." I said. The tingling on my neck had increased tenfold, and it had become harder to shield my mind from Will's attempts to talk to me telepathically. My forehead was wet with perspiration- I was barely keeping him at bay. The driver nodded at me, and pulled away from the curb. Looking round I saw Will running towards me, his eyes were filled with a steely determination, and I shrank back in response. Our eyes met, although I knew that with the blackout rear windows of cab that he couldn't actually see me. He seemed to stare right through me, running past me and into the hotel lobby. I breathed a sigh of relief as the taxi moved into the flow of traffic. Turning, I looked out of the rear window and saw Will run out of the hotel, frantically scanning the traffic for something. Careering round a bend in the road Will disappeared from sight. I slouched in my seat, letting the tension drain from my body. I'd escaped. The further we moved, the weaker the tingling sensation, and Will's telekinetic force became. I'd actually done it! I was free!
Please leave a review! Reviewers are the reason I write. Also, I need a name for Alice's soulfinder. Please comment a name in a review, and I may well use it! Thanks for your support guys! x