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Chapter #22: Wall of the Mind

 

Greeley Colorado

July 22nd, 2027-CE

 

Spiritis awakened the next morning with a splitting headache. It was as if someone tried to plow a Mach truck of knowledge through her mind. She felt different and couldn’t explain why. Angela was right. Exploring her power was unlocking more and more with every day. Now it was unlocking something else. That knowledge that she was connected to back in Red Feather started to show itself again. I would have been okay yesterday with what Angela was suggesting. I could have gone through with it and Angela could have told me what she wanted to tell me. What she wanted to tell me did have nothing to do with this power. However, she wouldn’t have stopped with going to Proxima. I don’t know if I want to risk using the Einstein-Rosen bridge. She thought to herself, how do I even know all this stuff now, anyway?

She got a change of clothes and pulled them on while yawning. Her mind was still foggy with information crowding it. She was still sorting it out as she felt her wells of power to see how they were. Her protective well had fully recovered, the source of her power provided her with enough power to partially fill her aspect power again, not enough to fill it all the way but more than she had yesterday. Either I am getting stronger or using less protective energy is energizing my aspect power faster. She thought to herself, if I could find a way to store this aspect power somewhere, I can store some for a rainy day since I don’t use all of it every day. Can I do that? A moment later some of that knowledge returned to her, Others do it all the time… Wait, there are others like me? More than just me and Ashara?

She slipped out into the living room and found Angela in the kitchen cooking breakfast, “Hey, Angela, you stayed here last night!”

Angela screamed uncharacteristically and almost threw the pan of hot bacon across the kitchen. Her eyes were full of fear. In her entire life, Spiritis was never able to sneak up on Angela due to their telepathic powers. Angela took a few breaths to calm down, “Are you okay?” Spiritis questioned in response, “Did you get enough sleep last night?”

“How the hell did you sneak up on me!” Angela questioned in response. A moment later, Angela gave her a curious stare, “Hang on, I can’t sense you… It’s like you aren’t there!”

“You’re joking, right?” Spiritis laughed, “You can’t be telling me you lost your powers?”

Angela shook her head, “I can sense the other people in the apartment complex. I am saying I can’t sense you,” She replied.

Spiritis gave her a funny look and cocked her heat, “That doesn’t make any sense. Nothing changed with me other than a headache. I can still sense everyone just like always.”

“You must be blocking me somehow. You learned a new trick or are using your powers in some way. You wanted to get back at me for not telling you that secret yesterday. Ha, ha, very funny! You can stop it now!” Angela stated as she pointed a spatula at Spiritis with a grumpy look on her face.

Spiritis was genuinely confused, “I swear I am not doing anything! If anything is wrong, it has something to do with you.”

The smell of bacon being burnt brought their attention back to the pan. At that point Spiritis was aware that Angela was not faking what she was saying, and something had changed. What would have changed to make it impossible for her to sense me, and only me? She asked herself.

“Dang it!” Angela cursed and threw the bacon in the sink. She drained the grease into an empty can and grabbed more bacon. She glanced at Spiritis and replied, “Well, you did have your laugh. You can drop that incredibly effective block now.”

Spiritis shook her head, “I’m not doing this on purpose. I don’t know how this is working. This must be something that my power is doing. I can’t control it.”

Angela fixed her sister with a curious silver eyed stare. She saw that her sister had a worried look in her gold eyes too. She nodded slowly, “Perhaps you’re right. Pushing things yesterday might have done something. We might want to take things slowly for a while. Until you get your bearings on this at least. If you change every time you push yourself who knows what will happen if we keep tripping the light fantastic.”

Rather sudden change. Did she have time to think about the whole Proxima thing or did my newfound mental barrier scare her that much? Spiritis asked herself as she sat down at the table. Soon after the answer came into her head. It was the newfound power that seemed to be feeding her secrets. It was the latter. Angela realized that they were in way over their heads with Spiritis’s power. Spiritis only now realized how right they were.

I thought the whole Proxima thing was playing with fire, but my powers are really playing with fire. I don’t know what I am or why I have these powers in the first place. I never even thought of the why before. I don’t even know what the source of these powers are and why it chose me to have these powers. That’s a problem I need to unravel. Spiritis reminded herself.

Angela put on more bacon and as it sizzled, she commented, “Maybe we should hold off on exploring your powers for a little while. You might want to stop using them unless you absolutely need to.”

Spiritis nodded, “I think you are right about that. But that will make for a long summer. Especially if Jena and Curtis want me to try for another round of super bowling.”

“Chalk that up to a fluke,” Angela replied, “Just be your boring self. Use your powers if you need to save yourself or someone else. For now, they are not toys.”

“Copy that,” Spiritis nodded. Her eyes widened, “Did I tell you that Ashara has these powers too?”

“That is a problem,” Angela sighed, “I trust you to use these powers wisely. If you say you will. Ashara on the other hand, she likes to stick her nose where it doesn’t belong and get into trouble.”

“All that from a brief meeting with her?” Spiritis questioned in response.

“You told me stories, out of everyone in your mom’s side of the family, you and she go together like peanut butter and jelly. That doesn’t make for a good combo with these powers, but I know you have a responsible streak when it comes down to it,” Angela explained, “I’m not sure about her.”

“Ashara and her father are moving up here,” Spiritis explained.

“So,” Angela glowered, “I will be seeing more of her. How did that happen?”

Spiritis brows furrowed together in confusion, “I never thought about that before. I wonder if Ashara’s powers have something to do with that. Maybe she influenced events on a greater level than I thought.”

“She is more advanced than you. She might have progressed further,” Angela nodded.

“But we can still sense her, that is different than me,” Spiritis replied.

Angela nodded as she started to plate the bacon and moved for the eggs, “That is true. Maybe there is something different to how you two explored your abilities? I don’t know what is different between you two.”

“Well, we will figure it out,” Spiritis replied, “When she comes back. They are waiting for their house to be finished.” Spiritis rose from her chair and went into the kitchen to get a glass of water. The smell of the burnt bacon clashed with the smell of the fresh burnt bacon. It made her nose wrinkle, but she ignored it while she filled up the water. She glanced to Angela after she filled up her glass and took a drink, “Are you going into work today?” Spiritis questioned.

Angela nodded, “Yes, but you should go to the club today to hang out with your friends. I am sure they missed you yesterday. You might want to get back to your normal routine anyway.”

“You are coming back tonight?” Spiritis questioned in response.

Angela sighed, “I got to clean more of my grandmother’s house today. I probably won’t be back.”

“Angela!” Spiritis whined.

“You might have to accept the fact that I will be living there for now on. I came back last night because I said I would. But that is going to be my place from now on. I am not just going to sell it because I have a room. Here. I am sure I will be welcome here, but it might be easier on Sylvia and Gwen to move into something smaller after I am gone anyway,” Angela replied.

Spiritis fought back tears, “I don’t want to go back to being an only child!”

“You have to come to accept the fact that I was probably going to be moving out sooner or later anyway. This is my last year of high school. After that I was going to find a job and look for my own place,” Angela replied, “Things just happened sooner than expected.”

“You don’t have to grow up so fast,” Spiritis replied, “You aren’t alone in this.”

“We aren’t family by blood,” Angela argued.

“I thought we were family by bond,” Spiritis contested, “I thought that meant something more. I guess not,” She glowered in response.

The comment stung more than anything else that could have caused Angela pain. She wanted to say something, but she didn’t know anything else. She could say one thing that would convey the same pain that Spiritis just caused her. Other comforting statements might just sound empty. Without knowing what Spiritis was thinking, without those surface thoughts that Angela was used to hearing, all Angela could do was plate the eggs and rest the plate in front of Spiritis followed by the silverware. She hatted the wall of the mind that came up between them.