I have a habit of overthinking situations. It likely started when my powers first appeared when I was four. At that time, I had almost no control over the memories I would see. It’s frightening to be suddenly forced into the world of adults when you barely know basic addition. I would get flashes of adults arguing, the sex they had the night before, their secret thoughts and feelings that although they never happened physically, were still kept as memories. It’s frightening to know just how fucked up the world is. As a child, even more so. It was crippling. I was living in fear at when the next episode would happen. It would come in bursts, but as a child I wasn’t able to properly describe what was happening to my parents. They took it to be a number of mental issues that have become more and more common over the years.

As a child, I was prescribed a number of drugs I had to take daily that were supposed to help. They only worsened the effects of my powers. Not only was I now seeing other’s memories, I was having those people see them as well.

I’m sure everyone’s had those moments where they lie in bed at night and suddenly thing of that one stupidly embarrassing thing they did years ago. Imagine that, but during the middle of the day and much more vivid. I believe it was similar to reliving the memory in its entirety. It wasn’t until I was ten that I was able to stop these bursts of power from happening. I still couldn’t control it, but I could at least hold it back. By that point, my parents had figured out I was a powered. As I believe many other parents have chosen as well, they kept it a secret. I was quickly homeschooled and kept away from the public once they found out the issue. They didn’t want to lose me.

I don’t think I’ll ever recover from those early childhood days though. The things I saw and felt were beyond what many grown adults would be capable of handling. That along with the increasing side effects from using the power has led me to be much more conservative with its use. I want to be extremely certain that using my power is the best option. That along with the moral issues that come with completely violating someone’s privacy, I often wish I had never gotten this power in the first place.

Now Eric’s story of his first use of power is much more hilarious. There’s just something comical about a baby teleporting randomly around a house as parents try desperately to catch it. Although I’m sure it was frightening at the time due to the California Tragedy that had recently taken place. The main culprit was a frighteningly powerful teleporter. Since then, the public has never viewed them the same. It’s hard to blame them. A million or so people losing their lives is a wound that may never fully heal.

I’m currently waiting for Eric to show up at my dorm room. It’s getting close to nine. Of course we have to go meet the man. Otherwise, what did we spend the last few years of our life doing?

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The most frightening thing about this meeting was actually something I noticed when the man first appeared. It’s hard to describe, but my powers are always activated in some small way. The minds of those around me are constantly beckoning for me to dive in. To view what is hidden in their depths. It is always an open invitation. With that man, I felt nothing. Well, not nothing exactly but more of an emptiness. A void, almost as if he didn’t have memories at all. This isn’t a guy I can get a read on. Although it will push Eric to his limit, I’m hoping he’ll be able to teleport us to safety if the situation turns ugly.

A loud knock jolted me from my thoughts and I opened the door to a grim-looking Eric waiting for me.

“Are you ready for this?” He asked. This may be the most serious I have ever seen him.

“Of course. Let’s finally solve this mystery and move on with our lives.” He nodded and we made our way out into the streets of the city. The building was surprisingly only a few blocks away. A rundown apartment building scheduled for demolition. A fence surrounded the property, but we found a hole on the side we could slip through.

It was frightening. Extremely frightening. The interior of the building was poorly lit by the lights of the city outside casting odd shadows throughout the decrepit rooms and hallways.

“Over here.” The gravelly voice called out, causing Eric and I jump. It was a strange relief knowing that Eric was just as frightened as I was. We walked into a small room to the right of us. It was an old one-bedroom apartment. The man was sitting on the edge of the bed, his hood still on, but he was finally in full view. He was shorter than average, but bulky which was either muscle or fat. It was difficult to tell with the baggy sweatshirt and sweatpants.

He pulled back his hood once we were both in the room, revealing his blood-red eyes. Other than that, he looked like a middle-aged dad. He had thick eyebrows, a five-o-clock shadow, and dimples that were extremely noticeable as he smiled at the two of us.

“Thanks for coming, guys.” His voice changed. It was lighter now, more friendly. I wonder if he was intentionally changing it or if it was an effect from using his power. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions, I will answer them in time. I first have a proposition for you two.” He stood up, perhaps for dramatic effect. “I represent a group of unregistered powereds, similar to the two of you. We work in the shadows to help other powereds in the country. Discrimination against our kind has only been growing and our freedoms are continuing to be stripped from us as anti-powered sentiment continues to grow. We need to stand up as one to fight the injustices that have been happening against our kind and you two would be a very powerful addition to the team.”

It was then I noticed a second mind in the room. One begging to be dived into. Rich with memories. Hundreds of years of them.

“Who’s there?” I turned quickly to the shadows of the adjoining room.

A small chuckle came from the room as a female voice spoke out. “Your power really is something, Mitch.” A woman, looking to be in her mid to late twenties walked out of the room to stand beside the man in grey. She had long, grey hair that seemed to clash with her otherwise youthful appearance.

“My name is Amanda, I am the current leader of our small group, The Chosen. I do hope you two will join.”