Jericho arrived home and opened his mailbox. As he walked back towards the house, he sorted out the letters. He threw away the junk mail, then stacked the rest of the letters on the table. As he turned to walk away, his head snapped back. He grabbed a letter that was addressed to him.
Jericho looked at the stack of letters. A letter with the name Jericho Kellian was posted on the preface. He was not sure how he missed the letter, but he never received many letters in the first place. It looked important when he looked through the mail, so he simply assumed it was something for his mother.
Jericho tore open the letter. His eyes scanned and skimmed the single piece of paper. approaching. birthday. age. powers. request. renewal. mandatory. appointment. When he arrived at the bottom of the paper he flipped the page and immediately flipped it back since the other side was empty. He pieced the information together from the few words he read, then reread the paper to be sure.
The document was a simple copy-and-paste letter sent from the government. It was the type of letter to be sent in droves, but Jericho wondered how common it was.
Basically, the letter stated he was required to reverify that he did not have a power and that this was a standard verification that occurred every two years after his eighteenth birthday. Jericho wondered when the prospects of joining the army or going to school would bother him, and it finally did.
From what he read in the paper, it was a simple process. He would have an interview with a government worker and he would have to answer their questions truthfully. A fitness performance test would be a possibility as well.
Jericho wondered how this type of interview would go if he still did not have powers. Surely, he would have been able to tell the worker that no school wanted him and that they might as well count him out of the army. But, now he acquired powers, and his problems and choices have changed.
He anticipated that the interviewer could have an ability that would uncover the truth. And, yet again, Jericho was reminded that the truth would have to come out eventually. There would be no point hiding his power any longer.
He briefly thought about making a bluff ability, but never pondered much about it, since revealing his powers were the last thing on his mind. It was required by law that citizens tell the truth when talking to any government employee during working hours. He would have to tell the truth about his abilities when asked during the interview. Otherwise, telling lies about his abilities was free rein.
The next course of action would be to apply for a university or to reach out to an army recruiter. His mind told him that he should do it at this instant, while he still had time.
Jericho shook his head. His mind flowed endlessly with jumbled thoughts. The garbage taking up his brain accumulated to an amount that he could not handle. He knew all he needed to do was pause and assess his feelings, but his clouded mind caused him to struggle. In one swift motion, he grabbed his keys and went for a walk. Perhaps, a stroll outside would clear his mind.
Despite wanting to clear his head, his mind wandered back to his conversation with Tristen.
***
“What do you mean I healed your friend?”
Tristen paused before she spoke, “Maybe, I shouldn’t have said that. Forget about it.”
“Tell me,” he said. “You can’t tell me I healed your friend then decide to drop the conversation.”
“It’s merely speculation,” she said. “Sometimes I’m wrong about these things.”
“It’s not speculation. It’s your power. Was it the girl at the coffee shop?”
“Yes,” she said. “I think you healed my friend Leona.”
Jericho pushed for more information. “Listen. I’m only eager to know because I’ve never healed anyone before.”
She said, “Listen, Jericho. That’s what I’m worried about. Leona has an incurable sickness, and if I’m correct about you healing her, then you’re the only person that has successfully healed her. Not the doctors nor the healers that have been paid millions of dollars by her father could heal her. It was you, a random teenager I met not even a month ago. Do you understand what that means?”
It means I’m in danger.
Jericho said the thought aloud a second later, and Tristen confirmed with a nod. He visualized his hair turning red, the strands transitioning from white to red. He imagined himself blood-soaked from the red dripping down from his head to the rest of his body.
She said, “Her father is going to want to find you to offer his thanks, but other people are going to want to find you too. I don’t think you understand how vigilant her father is. He’s hired people from across the world, prestigious doctors, those to the public eye, and even underworld healers. There is no one he hasn’t hired to heal his daughter. When word comes around that someone did, then they’re going to search for you too, and you better hope they’re in it for your best interest.”
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“But, I’ve never healed anyone before. Are you sure this doesn’t happen in the future?”
“My power doesn’t work like that. It would have to happen very soon in that case, but I doubt Leona is going to magically appear here.”
“Don’t say magically appear,” he said. “That is very much possible.”
“Just as possible as you healing her,” she said.
“I can’t have healed her,” he insisted. “I healed her from that one time I met her? When you met me at that coffee shop my ability was running dry. I was only there because I needed an energy boost, but even then, the coffee wasn’t working.”
“See,” she said. “You’re worried now that I told you.”
“I’m worried because it’s a likely scenario. Has Leona updated you about her sickness?”
“I hung out with her the day after I met you,” she said. “Who knows? You might not have healed her.”
She did not sound very convincing.
She said, “There’s nothing to worry about. I doubt anything is going to happen to you soon, if at all. News like that doesn’t come out, and if it does it won’t trace back to you.”
***
Jericho flung into the air and his body slammed into a tree.
A small trio wearing black, ski masks slowly surrounded Jericho. Behind them was a duo with white hockey masks that raced over to them in the distance.
Jericho held onto the side of his chest and surged it with energy. It was sloppy work, but he had other things to worry about. His body healed slightly, and he took off in a sprint. Down the street were two vans, and Jericho pivoted to turn the other direction.
The two groups appeared to be separate and were fighting amongst each other. Jericho needed to widen the gap before anyone took notice. He doubted they would be distracted for long.
“Hey, he’s running off!” A voice ordered. “You! Go get him!”
Jericho sprinted faster. He was not much of a sprinter and was more focused on endurance. The problem here was he was unsure whether there were any speed users. Running would be useless if that were the case.
He noticed a familiar street and went in the other direction. He did not want his mom or anyone acquainted with him to get caught in the chaos. He wanted to fully assess his options first.
After his mind finally assessed the situation he started to yell in between breaths repeatedly, “Help!” If someone heard him, then they would surely report a crime to the police, and he would be saved.
“Dampen!” One of his chasers immediately put his antics to rest. “Where’s a speed user when I need one? Slow down!”
Jericho’s shouts immediately cut off to a murmur. He attempted to shout to no avail. He tried one final shout at full volume, but all that did was strain his throat and lungs. It was not something he wanted to do while running for his life.
This person had the ability to limit noise levels and no amount of yelling would help him now. If he wanted help he would have to be direct and that would put others in danger. Even then, he was not sure whether he would be loud enough to speak. The muffling effects would have to wear off eventually, but the chaser voiced out his power thus amplifying its strength. He could not come up with a solution so he kept running.
Jericho turned his head hesitantly, careful not to slow his momentum or trip. Falling would be the worst thing to happen to him at this moment. Even with the distance he created, one trip and he would be within their reach. Two chasers were on him, one from each group. He knew one of their powers was to muffle noise, but the other was still unknown.
Jericho approached a forest preserve that was on his right. He turned in a 90-degree angle and hopped and forced his way through the trees and shrubbery. His body burned slightly, his skin cut from sharp twigs, but he pushed through. There was no need to heal the wounds and it was best he save his energy.
“Finally!” It was the other chaser, the one with the unknown ability. “Slow!”
“I’m not slowing for shit,” Jericho murmured.
Jericho made his way across a river bed. He jumped across stepping on stones to minimize his time in the water. He leaped to the final rock to get back on land, but his legs immediately plummeted. It was as if his legs weighed hundreds of pounds.
A distance-sensitive power? He wasn’t telling me to slow down. He was activating his ability.
Jericho turned his body. His arms and upper body were able to move freely, but from the waist and below he was weighed down.
A white hockey mask greeted him, “How do you like my power?” He nudged Jericho with his finger slightly, and he must have released his ability momentarily because Jericho flew into the air and plunged into the water.
Jericho’s raised his head to avoid hitting it against stone. He managed to protect his brain, but still submerged into the water. He sputtered, pushed his head out, and he raised his neck to prevent his nose and mouth from going back in. It was somewhat fortunate that the hockey mask’s power only affected his lower body. He breathed in shallow breaths, still adjusting to the sudden water transition.
The water ran in the direction from his head to his toes, the direction where his two adversaries were. The hockey mask approached, and behind him was the noise dampener who was transfixed in place like Jericho.
Hockey mask squatted next to Jericho’s semi-paralyzed body. “It’s a good thing our buddy here has a noise dampening ability, otherwise this chase would have been cut short. But, boy, are you a runner! I didn’t think I’d have to work up a sweat! This was rather fun.”
“Piss off!” Ski mask said.
“Oh, shut up,” hockey mask said. “You’ve lost. Just face it. Maybe they should have brought people with useful powers. But, I suppose you didn’t expect to encounter anyone else. Did you?” He continued to critique the ski mask group. “Also, three men to do a job? Are you trying to bring attention to yourself? The fact you have a crappy power probably means the other two with you are combative. They probably thought they would win two versus one, but they don’t stand a chance.”
He took off his hockey mask revealing a man in his late 20s with shoulder-length brown hair. He shook his head around and sweat splashed onto the water and Jericho. He slicked his hair back, then put his mask back on.
He patted Jericho on the chest. “We’ve been watching you for a while, Jericho. I hope you don’t disappoint, for your own sake.”