Chapter 9

Ray

My fist went all the way through the tree, bark and wood went flying in every direction. I fell forward, off balance. The tree creaked, and then thundered to the ground, crushing a parked car on the side of the road. The sound was terrible, awful!

I knelt next to the newly formed stump, my eyes wide.

I couldn’t move. I was frozen in disbelief. What had just happened?

The stump was on fire, small flames dancing around it. So was a part of the tree. Had the tree been struck by lightning?

I looked at my fist. Not a scratch. No pain. But it was bright red, as if it were about to spontaneously combust. There was a strange burning underneath my skin, throughout my whole body—like when your foot falls asleep, but instead of a painful and annoying feeling, it felt invigorating.

Yes, I had just punched a tree down with my bare hand. That was impossible! And it was a big tree! Maybe 30 feet tall with a wide trunk!

I stood up and checked the crushed car. Fortunately, nobody was inside when the tree came down on it. I heard a door open nearby. A large lady walked out of her house next to the street, wearing sweats. She looked at the crushed car and shrieked, “My car!” Then she saw me standing next to the stump. She looked confused at first, and then infuriated. “What did you do?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but nothing came out. What would I say? Sorry, but I punched your tree down? Would she expect me to pay for the damage? How did this even happen? I shouldn’t be in trouble! I had no idea the tree would fall down like that! I just touched it! Without a word to the lady, I turned and ran.

Something strange happened in that moment. The burning under my skin ignited, as if a small candle had turned into an uncontrolled forest fire. It seemed like I had tapped into some unknown power within me. The feeling didn’t hurt, it felt great, and terrifying. The moment I felt it, everything around me slowed down—like slow-motion. The leaves stopped blowing in the wind. A car in the distance seemed to stop, but I could tell it was still moving slowly. And I was running fast. Really fast!

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My legs pumped faster than humanly possible. Wind instantly slammed into me, as if I’d stuck my head out of an airplane. Before I actually realized what was happening, I was already at my house. I lost balance and rolled into my back yard, a cloud of dust following me. Once I rolled to a stop on the dirt, I knelt there, hyperventilating, panicking. I couldn’t catch my breath. WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO ME?

I couldn’t be thinking straight. Something had to be wrong with me. I remembered running every step of the way home, about a 200-yard run. But it felt like I’d run that distance in less than a second! That’s impossible!

I sat down in a lawn chair, about to pass out with short breaths and shaking limbs. After a moment of sitting there, the burning feeling in my stomach died down into nothing. I started breathing normally again. My head cleared up, but I still couldn’t wrap my mind around what’d just happened.

Somehow, I’d punched a tree in half and started it on fire. And then I’d run a 200-yard sprint in less than a second. That couldn’t be! I must be hallucinating or something! I’m going crazy!

Did that lady recognize me? Would she call the cops on me? How am I supposed to explain what happened? No one would believe me! I shoved my head into my hands.

After a long moment, I raised my head and I looked at my hands. They weren’t red anymore. I closed my eyes and concentrated, searching for the burning feeling I’d felt earlier. It was there, in my gut, dormant, but there. I thought about punching the tree again, and the burning returned. “Whoa,” I said out loud. The inner fire spread under my skin, down my legs, my arms, and through my head. It felt like pure energy surging through me. I felt powerful, invincible. My hands didn’t change color like they had before, but they felt stronger. How strong? I wondered.

I walked over to our pool and spotted a huge boulder at the pool’s corner. It had to weigh several hundred pounds. It was propped up by other decorative boulders in a perfect position for me to get my hands underneath it. I took a deep breath. Moment of truth, I thought. I bent down, grabbed a hold of the boulder, and lifted.

The fire within me burned stronger, and I easily lifted the boulder off the ground and above my head. Dirt from the bottom of the boulder fell down around me. I could tell that the boulder was heavy because I had to keep it centered above me, but it honestly felt as heavy as a bowling ball. I was strong. Really strong! This was crazy! I dropped the boulder back in place with a loud crunch.

I looked at my hands in front of me, the burning sensation dying down. I couldn’t believe it. This was freaky… and… pretty cool. What could I do with this power? I thought. How did I get it?

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the red stone I’d found last night in the crater. It wasn’t glowing like it did last night. Nothing seemed peculiar about it, except for its brownish red color and smooth texture. The rock seemed to be the only logical explanation for what’d happened to me. I think it gave me superpowers.