Chapter 26

Lorraine took me over to a small Italian restaurant I hadn’t been to before. “They make the best sandwiches,” she said as we parked.

Inside, the place was pretty full of patrons, but it was quiet. Some of them looked up as we came in. It was a normal act, something I would have done. The quiet bothered me, though.

As I looked around, I scanned everyone’s aura. Their emotions suggested something far more critical. Fear permeated most of the patrons. Even Lorraine noticed the tension in the air. I could see her aura harden. She was expecting something, just like me.

Two men at the table next to the door stood up. One of them pulled a gun. “Welcome folks. We’ll be your servers this afternoon. Just hand over your wallets and pick any table in the room.”

The guy was trying to lighten the mood with a friendly tone while simultaneously robbing us blind. His friend held out his hands to both of us, expecting compliance.

I made a quick scan of the room again as I reached for my wallet. My heart pounded in my chest, and my head filled with the sight of frightened auras. Was there anything I could do? Could I put all these people in jeopardy with a stupid act of heroism?

I looked back at the men as I handed them my wallet. Lorraine was quite calm, though her aura screamed fear. She had excellent self-control. Good for her. Then the man who took my wallet opened it. “What do we have here?” He looked up at me and then at the wallet again. His smile faded.

I thought about Lorraine. I thought really hard, “Sit in a chair, now!”

Lorraine sat down right there. The man with my wallet nudged his partner and pointed out my name.

I watched their auras. Fear rolled through them. The one with the gun tightened his grip.

“You’re Ral Sutton?” asked the one with my wallet.

I looked at him and slowly nodded once.

His partner pulled back the hammer on his gun. He held it out at arm’s length, pointing it at my face.

I could see the emotions playing through his aura. He couldn’t decide if he should upgrade his crime from a simple armed robbery to murder.

I thought about what the killer had done to Bethany, how he had thoroughly controlled her. I glanced down at the gunman’s hand. It was steady. His internal struggle was almost at an end. I wanted him to remain still. I wanted his finger off the trigger.

I focused on his hand. I could feel the sweat and clamminess. It was a weird sensation. Something I already understood and my brain processed what my power noted for me. It wasn’t in my hands, or skin, but completely in my head.

I gripped his hand, especially his finger. I pried his finger away from the trigger slowly. That’s when he noticed.

Fear flooded his aura. His eyes switched to his hand. “What are you doing to me?”

I said nothing. My focused on his finger helped me move it out of the trigger guard. I left it there and looked up at him. “I’m making sure you don’t make a bigger mistake than you have already.”

Sweat poured down his face. Both men’s attention focused completely on his finger.

I looked back at his hand. He was fighting me, but not getting anywhere. “Drop the gun,” I said, and his other fingers opened, letting the gun fall.

Letting go of the gunman, I caught the gun and let it float to Lorraine.

I stood there, watching both men. “Until the police arrive, why don’t you two have a seat?”

Both of them sat down, fear threatening to overpower them.

I let out a breath of relief and turned to look at Lorraine. She had her phone out, calling the police. I looked around the room. “Is everyone okay?”

Fear continued to dominate most of the patrons, but like me, most were relieved. Everyone nodded their heads, and some were grinning. I noticed a little girl sitting near the bathroom. Her eyes were as big as saucers. I nodded at her and she grinned. Looking up at the woman she sat with, she said, “He smiled at me, Mommy!”

Her mother looked up at me, hugging her girl. She nodded back at me.

The police arrived about ten minutes later and took the two robbers away. A few hours passed as the police took everyone’s statements and return their property. The owner of the restaurant happily made the sandwiches we ordered. He tried to give them to us without charge. We agreed, but then I left a tip in his tip jar to make up for it.

Several of the patrons had stopped to shake my hand, and even Lorraine’s. Some were careful not to get too close as they left. I didn’t want the attention, but there was no way to hide from the people who appreciated what I had done. The little girl even gave me and Lorraine hugs. Her mother was smiling, but her aura suggested that she just wanted to leave. I knew I couldn’t win everyone over, but did they have to act like I had the plague?

After we left, Lorraine noticed my melancholy mood. “What’s up?”

I shrugged. “Nothing in particular.”

“You did good, Ral,” she said. “What’s with the mood?”

“That little girl that hugged us,” I said. “Her Mom wasn’t as happy and just wanted to leave.”

“Well, you can’t win everyone over.”

“I know, but I can’t help but wonder why people feel like they do.”

“Could you hear her thoughts?”

I turned and looked at her. “What do you mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean,” she said. “I distinctly remember hearing you tell me to sit down.”

I blinked at her. “You heard that?”

She nodded. “And I was sure I heard you back at the lab. You wanted me to come to the front to find you.”

My face must have turned pale. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“Didn’t know what? That you could make others hear your thoughts?”

I nodded.

“You didn’t force me to do anything, Ral.”

I looked at her again. “That may be true, but since when is anyone’s fear based on the truth? Everyone else would think it was some kind of invasion.”

“That may be, which means now that you know, you can keep it in check.”

I sat silently while I thought about that. She was right, to a degree. I could keep that in check. I just had to be careful not to think AT someone so hard. Isn’t that what I had done? Then Lorraine brought up something that made me worry more.

“You can’t hear others’ thoughts, can you?”

I didn’t want to answer because I knew the truth, and I wasn’t sure she would approve.

She looked over at me. “Did you hear me Ral?”

I looked at her and nodded.

The look on her face fell. She looked back at the road.

“What?” I asked.

“I didn’t ask that aloud.”

I slumped back into my seat, closed my eyes, and tried to disappear.

“You just have to be careful, Ral.”

“That’s the problem, Lorraine. Mr. Shepherd refers to me as a Natural Psionic. He says the defining quality of a Natural Psionic is the lack of control over their powers.”

“So, you need to practice control?”

I nodded. “Latent Psionics are just the opposite, they have to concentrate to use their abilities.”

I still had my eyes closed. I didn’t know if she was looking at me or not. “Well, how do you get control?” I heard her ask.

“I suppose practice,” I said, “but I don’t exactly have many volunteers to practice with.”

“Maybe not before, but, with the right setting, I’d volunteer.”

I looked at her, studying her aura. She was fairly comfortable emotionally. Maybe a touch nervous, but that was all. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why would you volunteer?”

She glanced at me. “I watched what you did today. To me, it looked like you were in perfect control. But if you think you need practice, then I’ll help.”

Something in her aura suggested that wasn’t the only reason. I didn’t want to put her on the defensive, so I didn’t mention it. “What would you suggest?”

“Well, like any other scientific experiment, we need a lab and probably some safety equipment.”

“What kind of safety equipment do you have that could keep me from hurting you if I really lost control?”

She shrugged. “I could wear a Kevlar vest, a helmet and other such things.”

I shook my head. “No. I’m not doing anything to you, and that’s that.”

She glanced at me with a smile. “I appreciate the thought, but if you get into another situation like that one back here, what do you think you’d do if something broke your concentration?”

I considered that. If I had lost focus, it could have gone two ways: either I would have let go, or broken something. “I don’t know.”

“We need to find out.”

“Then we need something that no one will cry over if I break it.”

She glanced at me again. “You really think you’d break me?”

In my head, the Green Dragon launched across the field and landed with a loud crack. “I’d rather not find out. With the gunner’s hand, I could have either let go or crushed it.” I looked back at her. “I’d hate to do that by accident. If I do it, it should be a conscious effort.”

She nodded. “Okay. Then we’ll start with small delicate things. I have some ideas.”

“How delicate?”

“Well, popsicle sticks, toothpicks, small flowers, whatever.”

“You have all those things in the labs?”