Chapter 40: Maelstrom

How the building tore apart around us, yet didn't hurt any of us, I couldn't explain. But then, there were many things I couldn't explain.

Without the protection of the structure, wind and rain lashed down on all of us. I turned, attempting to shield Sally from the sudden brunt of the storm.

Bits of wood and metal flew around the three of us and I could feel fear running rampant through Sally and Mr. Gilman. Their fear fed my sense of protection.

I felt the wind die down. Looking around, I saw the storm continuing to rage around us, but it was like we were in the eye where nothing was happening.

Sally looked up. "Is it over? What was that?" Then she noticed the eerie contrast as well.

Mr. Gillman looked around. "Either the storm is as odd as it is for just showing up..." and he looked at me "or Ral is demonstrating an ability he has yet to discover."

Sally looked at me. "You're doing this?"

I thought about the storm. I could feel it at range, and the sensation of holding it at bay. "I am. I'm holding it off."

Just as quickly as it had hit and destroyed the cinema, the wind and rain died away. Debris fell around us, still deflecting off the bubble I had erected unconsciously.

Once the clatter of everything settling ceased, I heard what sounded like someone clapping.

"Very good, very good!" someone called.

I turned, looking for them. "Sally, take your Dad, get a car and get away from me. This is going to become very dangerous."

Sally hesitated and I urged her to run. She and Mr. Gillman made their way through the debris toward the back of where the cinema had stood. I walked in the opposite direction.

A man stood in the shadows of the street. Streetlamps were toppled, giving us no light. I wasn't sure if the cinema was the only demolished structure, but with my focus on the man, I wasn't overly worried. "Who are you?" I asked.

"I am known as Maelstrom," he said with a deep bow. "And I believe I knew your parents ... Mr. Nautikuus."

That grabbed my attention as nothing else had. Why this Mind Magi was suddenly so important, I wasn't sure. Something in my head knew what to expect of him, and my emotions embroiled a storm within me that not even a protective bubble would keep away.

"How did you know my parents?" I asked softly.

He looked at me. I could feel his curiosity. "Haven't you been told?"

"My parents are dead, if that's what you mean."

"Yes," he said, looking up at the sky, "And I'm the one who brought down the lightning bolt that killed them."

The air around me suddenly felt full with something intangible yet undeniable. I looked up and saw rolling storm clouds and it dawned on me that Maelstrom was manipulating them.

Instinctively I sped up. The clouds slowed their movements. But a lightning bolt ... Could I outrun that?

I moved, jumping away to relative safety. The bold grazed my feet, but I felt nothing more than very hot shoes.

Maelstrom found me. "You are fast. The rumors about you are true then. Speed, strength, and who knows what else."

"I'm loaded with surprises," I said standing up. "Why not come over and find out what?"

He shook his head. "No. I have other plans for tonight. You are merely a distraction at best."

"You can't hit me with lightning," I retorted. "What makes you think you'll get on with your plans?"

He smiled. "Because I can hit you with other more, wide spread effects."

I could hear it coming. The ground smacked with rain. Heavy rain. Too heavy. Turning I saw a wall of precipitation rushing toward us. It wasn't rain hitting the ground. It was hail.

Looking the other way, I found an abandoned car. Thoughts of Sally and her father crossed my mind. If Maelstrom didn't think he was winning against me, he may turn to hurting them. I knew they were already driving away, but that wouldn't put them out of his reach.

Knowing how much it would hurt, but fearing more for the others, I stood there and waited for the brunt of the hail storm.

Pain wasn't the only thing to endure. The sheer cold of the heavy ice burned to my bones. The beating, about my head, shoulders and back, made it hard to concentrate. Falling to my knees and folding over into a fetal position, I tried to reduce how much of my body was hit. Still the pain and freezing effects kept me from retaliating.

I knew it was just a matter of time. The density of the storm increased the odds dramatically. Finally, one of the baseball sized blocks hit me in the squarely in the head and I lost consciousness...