The short-sleeve jumpsuit they put me in was the most ridiculous, unflattering piece of beige clothing I had ever seen. When laid flat it looked like a rectangle, clearly made for a man’s shape; the shoulders were baggy, and it pulled tighter across my ass and chest with extra material floating around my waist. It felt like an unnecessary requirement; my street clothes made zero difference in my ability to teleport. But I’d been told that they were measuring everything, meaning they wanted to know the exact details of my clothing, including my damn underwear, to make sure everything they calculated was done correctly and as accurately as humanly possible.
Leo and his father stood in front of me, heads bent over a tablet, discussing something about my ability in hurried, hushed tones. I could make out a word here or there when Leo got excited about something, but I couldn’t decipher their meaning.
When I’d woken up reluctantly ready to start my new job today with Farley Tech, I wasn’t expecting there to be so much waiting around. First, it was getting my ID badge to print, then waiting for someone to tell me to change clothes, then waiting for Leo and his dad to grace me with their presence to begin the preliminary tests. There was even more waiting between tests as they analyzed the data and determined what needed to be done next. In one word, it was boring.
The only thing keeping me from tapping my foot in impatience was knowing that next week I’d get to start working on the app, my app. And mine it was; according to Leo, his father didn’t want to be too closely associated with it and had created an LLC for me to run. Farley would still provide the people to help build it, which was causing the temporary hold-up, but the project was legally mine. This app was my hope to help people, and I’d do just about anything to make sure it got off the ground, including holding my tongue when I really wanted to complain. Tomorrow, I’d be sure to bring a book or my tablet with me. In my haste to get out of the apartment before Leo this morning, I’d left it behind.
Andrew Farley, Leo’s dear old dad, finally looked up at me.
“Thank you for your patience, Callie,” he began. I blinked, surprised at his acknowledgment; I was expecting the cold, detached man Leo had always described. “I understand this is not the most exciting thing for you, but I promise we’ll get to that soon enough. Let’s sit, take a break, and talk, shall we?”
Because I hadn’t been taking a ten to fifteen minute break every thirty seconds today.
Leo silently led the way over to a small snack station hidden in a recessed alcove that I’d already patronized three times today. Using my ability so many times made me ravenous, an unexpected side-effect. Though, once it was pointed out, it made a lot of sense. The extra portions here and there, the high-calorie desserts, the snacking, but…all without making any difference to how my clothes fit. Really, it wasn’t a problem.
The bistro-style table positioned towards the corner was large enough to seat six, and after grabbing a random handful of snacks and water for myself, I sat so that an empty chair remained between myself and the two men staring at me. I had to stop myself from rubbing my tongue against my cheek to check for stuck food. The attention was unnerving.
“Your ability is astounding,” Andrew complimented. Again, I blinked at him before remembering I should probably show some manners.
“Um, thank you.”
“What’s curious, though, are the specific mechanics of it.” He pushed his tablet across the table towards me, showing me stats that I could absolutely not understand. Okay, so maybe insisting that I could understand what Leo was talking about at all times was a little far-fetched. This was well beyond my scope.
Thankfully, Leo took over. He leaned across the table, careful to keep his distance from me, and pointed. “These here are what we’re most excited about. It shows us how your ability works. Instead of, say, atomizing the object and reassembling it at its destination, you simply fold the space between the starting and end points.”
That sounded familiar. “Like, what are they called, those things in space, all those sci-fi movies?”
“Wormholes?” Leo supplied, suppressing a smile as he pulled the tablet back towards him.
I snapped my fingers and pointed at him. “Yes. Those things. It’s like that?”
“The data suggests that,” Andrew answered. “Now, what we’d like to test are the limits. You’ve demonstrated other abilities, according to my son.”
My eyebrows drew together, and I glanced at Leo.
“When you smashed the glasses in the kitchen? And the table? You didn’t try to send them anywhere, and, essentially, shattered the space they occupied, breaking them.”
Again, I blinked.
“We’re wondering if you can bend space without an object to focus on,” Andrew finished.
I leaned forward, resting my arms on the table and starting picked at the bag of mini jerky bites I’d grabbed. My brain was trying to parse the information into something logical, but it didn’t make sense because it sounded like they wanted me to make portals.
“Callie?” Andrew prompted. “Do you understand what we’re saying?”
I opened my mouth, then closed it. It took a couple of tries, but eventually I decided on, “Maybe? It sounds like…portals, or something, but I don’t think—”
“You think correctly,” Leo interrupted.
“That’s…” I took a breath. “That’s sounds like a stretch.”
Andrew nodded. “I’m sure it seems that way. But the science doesn’t lie; with practice and training, we think you’ll be able to work up to it.”
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Both men looked at me, apparently waiting for a response. I bought myself some time by popping a few pieces of jerky in my mouth and chewing. Unfortunately, they waited for me to finish, meaning I had to say something. But what the hell does someone say to that? Oh, sure, I’ll get right on figuring out how to make freaking portals.
“How long do you think that could take?” I asked.
Leo shrugged. “Depends on how much work you put into it.”
Oh, awesome. No pressure, then.
“Realistically, at least a year. There’s a lot we need to work on before getting to that point, even on our end. This is something we’ll want to monitor closely, and we simply do not have the ability to do it quite yet. Not to mention your own training.”
“Which leads us to the next, and for today the last, stage of tests.”
It was scary how well they worked together, going back and forth like they knew exactly what the other would say, ready to jump in at any time.
“We’d like to see if you’re able to transport another human other than yourself. You’ve already confirmed you’re capable of other, smaller animals, but they’re also unable to communicate with us of any side-effects.”
I wasn’t so sure of that. The small goat they’d had me teleport had bleated in panic afterwards and shit all over the floor as it ran in circles, some of it landing on Andrew’s shoes. It was hilarious.
But I was starting to run out of energy. I was tired, the type that promised a dreamless dead sleep where not even Lucie’s midnight shenanigans nor unholy yowling would wake me.
“Can it wait until tomorrow?” I asked, trying not to sound desperate.
Andrew tilted his head slightly. “If it’s necessary, then we have no other choice. But if you can manage it, it will allow our numbers people to run all of them tonight so we can hit the ground running tomorrow. Can you try?”
I considered it. The past two weeks had been the definition of hectic, and not even the weekends had been enough to rejuvenate me. Between putting in my two weeks and dealing with Alex’s non-stop questions about why I was “jumping ship” for the enemy, I was exhausted. But…maybe more mentally exhausted than physically.
“I can try, but I can’t make any promises.”
“Excellent. We’ll have you teleport Leo just a few feet; nothing drastic.”
My eyes snapped to Leo, and I swallowed. He gave me an almost imperceptible nod.
I stood up from the table. Leo copied me, and we stepped a few feet away. Andrew stayed where he was, already tapping away on his tablet. He showed no concern over the possible death of his one and only child, showing that the cold man was still there.
Pushing Leo’s disappointing relationship with his father out of my mind, I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing. As mad as I was at Leo for the shit he’d pulled to manipulate me two weeks ago, I didn’t want him dead.
While breathing, I envisioned Leo in my mind’s eye and the empty space a mere three feet to his right. There was no reason to push my boundaries, not this first time. My arm rose on its own as though to better direct my ability to its target, and I opened my eyes to find Leo watching my hand. Tingles danced on my fingertips as I got ready to move him through space, the feeling creeping up towards my palm and then to my wrist.
In my mind, something snapped into place, a feeling of righteousness that allowed me to give the final push of my ability. Leo noticed the shift, and his eyes widened the moment I let my ability latch onto him and yank.
Andrew’s chair scraped against the floor behind me as Leo reappeared a few steps away from his starting point, stumbling a few steps before catching himself.
And I crumpled to the floor.
My arms had a million fire ants crawling up and down them, biting all the way from my fingertips to my elbows, the tiniest finger twitch complete agony. I bit my lip to stop a moan from slipping out as I stopped moving and started breathing through the pain.
Leo reached me first, collecting me in his arms and talking at me. The ringing in my ears drowned him out, and I struggled to read his lips. When I didn’t respond, he looked away and shouted, the veins on his neck prominent.
I blinked, and when I opened my eyes again, someone new with a long blond braid hovered over me. My right arm was in her grasp, twisted to reveal my inner elbow as she quickly shoved a needle in. I didn’t feel it over the burning still racing through my veins. After starting the IV in my arm, she moved to my other side and…started taking my vitals?
She held a small device over my bicep, watching the screen carefully. I didn’t care what it was telling her, though I probably should; I was more worried that my arms would spontaneously combust.
Thankfully, it didn’t happen.
Slowly, the ringing in my ears dissipated and the burning in my arms receded to a manageable tingling that ended at my wrists. Leo stayed with me the entire while, propping me up against him until I was able to help get myself into one of the bistro chairs. The nurse, who introduced herself as Steph, asked me the same questions every five minutes for a half an hour until she was satisfied that I’d recovered enough.
“Next time, tell them no,” she urged. Her blue eyes caught mine. “You don’t need to push yourself to burnout to try to prove anything. That was too close, young lady.”
Andrew approached, discarding his tablet on the table. Steph retreated to stand over by the far end of the snack table.
“I know it probably doesn’t feel this way right now, but it was a good thing it happened,” Andrew said, oddly…happy. It was an emotion I didn’t think the man possessed and was in complete contrast to the serious warning from Steph.
I glanced at Leo, who shrugged a shoulder. “Now we know your limit, and can crunch the numbers so next time you get close, you’ll know.”
“I don’t think that’ll be necessary,” I said. “I think my body has its own built-in warning system.”
Andrew jumped at the bait I dangled. “What did you notice?”
“Tingles. In my fingers, at first. Then it spread up my arms and started burning,” I answered.
“Interesting. Leo, you get that?” Leo had already picked up his father’s tablet and was tapping away like his life depended on it. Because everyone knew if it wasn’t written down, then it wasn’t science.
Seeing his son had things handled, Andrew turned back to me. “Still, we’ll put the new system in place so that doesn’t happen again. Your near-burnout messed with the bio-screen, and we couldn’t get any readings from you until two minutes ago. You effectively shorted the system.”
I rubbed my face. I couldn’t take much more new information. My brain was going to explode with it all. Don’t get me wrong, I was glad to have it, but I was going to need to write it all down or I was going to forget something important.
“I didn’t think that was possible,” I answered, at a loss of anything else to say.
“You and me both,” Leo muttered from the other side of the table.
“It’s something Leo will work on,” Andrew replied, his tone a bit sharp. “In the meantime, he’ll get the new system ready in your screen. Two days from now we’ll review it with you and talk about what your personal goals will be and how to achieve them.”
There was definitely more information packed into his words, but I decided I was done learning new things today.
“Why not tomorrow?” I wondered, dealing with the only immediate concern I saw. It wasn’t a complaint, far from it, but I wanted to make sure I wouldn’t miss out on anything important.
“You burned yourself out today; you need to rest.” He paused like he was trying to decide to say anything else. Then, “Also, it’ll take us well into the day tomorrow to complete and triple-check the numbers. It would be a waste of time to have you come in to just sit around until the very end.”
Without any sort of farewell, Andrew turned and left.
Leo sighed dramatically. “Alright, Callie. Let’s head home.”
Steph approached and unhooked the half-empty IV, giving me a final, meaningful parting look. I nodded at her, taking her warning to heart.