Chapter 29
“Look at her.” Roy said as he stood over Nina as she slept.
Moments before, Roy sat on the couch in his living room, in the dark. The form, the state, he was in was different from the others. He was not an astral projection, and it was not just his vision.
Roy was still awake, but was in two places at once. His form was not visible, but not ghost like, he did not rely on other powers to manipulate material.
It only took me moments to find her. Her presence so kind and sweet, was discernible within seconds of searching.Roy thought to himself, amazed with his accomplishment. He no longer relied on his eyes to see, he did not need to, he could feel, sense the world around him in far greater detail. He could feel the presence of individuals, but with great ease he could control it, he could control or eliminate the feedback and use his traditional senses.
Let’s get this done. The thought of you being controlled for a minute longer, is just too much.Roy placed his fingers on her forehead. Instantly images of Nina’s past, from the moment she had moved and met Kevin, the words he spoke, to the moment before she had fallen asleep that night. So I was right.Roy held his hand a few inches above her face. He closed his eyes, and then opened them. Him and Nina, where standing face-to-face.
“What is this? A dream?” Nina asked, looking around to see an empty plane, nothingness, only light, light to illuminate herself and Roy.
“No this is not a dream.” Roy explained.
“Yeah right, like this kind of place actually exist.” Nina said in a sarcastic manner.
“So be it,” Roy held out his hand, “You can decide this for yourself.” A knife with a long narrow blade appeared from nowhere.
“What? I don’t understand.”
“If it is true that we do not feel pain in dreams then surely if you cut yourself you will not feel any pain. Please, though, don't cut yourself in any serious manner.”
The knife floated to Nina, “Okay.” She grabbed it. With it being held in one hand, she nicked the top of her finger, a small stream of blood flowed out. “No, this can’t be. Where are we?”
“This is just an area that I prefer, as I was previously in a place similar to this.”
“Your voice sounds familiar.”
Really she hasn’t noticed?“Nina, you don’t recognize me?”
“Roy?” Roy nodded, “You look so different.” She ran over and hugged him.
Her showing affection confused Roy. He did not know the parameters of the control, or when it affected her. “Yes, do to some circumstance, my appearance has changed.”
“Well you look good.”
“You look beautiful.”
Nina kissed him, but Roy felt moisture on his cheek.
“I’m sorry.” She started to sob.
“About what?”
“Since I’ve moved here, I can’t remember much, it’s all a blur. And with Kevin, when ever he’s around, it’s like I can’t control what I do or say. I can only watch while… while it all goes by.” She started to cry louder, the beating of her heart could be heard through her words, “And… and… he made me…”
“That’s enough, I know. Please it’s going to be okay.” Roy knew what she was going to say, the disgusting, vile things he made her do. He embraced her. “I know everything that has happened, those matters will be solved, soon enough. Right now lets spend some time and talk.”
The emptiness gave way to an infinitely expanding grass plain, full of every flower imaginable. A sky formed over head, and two chairs formed just beyond Roy.
“Let’s set.”
“How can you be so calm?” Nina asked.
“I am mad, to an extent I have never been, but it has been so long since we where together that I’d like to spend it with you.”
They sat down.
“How do I know that when I wake up anything will be different? Or whether or not what you have said is true?”
“Because I would never lie to you.” He stopped and then thought to himself, Should I tell her about the powers and stuff?“I’d hope to never tell you this, I hoped that it would be my disgusting secret.”
“What? It’s okay.”
“I have killed.”
“Killed what?”
Roy told Nina of Raven and her ultimate demise and of Jack, with the only exclusion being the powers. The powers will wait.
The things she heard did not disturb or scare her, the events saddened her, she felt sympathy. She saw the distress his words had on himself.
“It’s okay.” She consoled him.
“But they will not be the last.” Roy looked her square in the eyes.
“What are you talking about?”
“Kevin.”
“Why?”
“If I don’t; you, me, your mother, my mother everyone will be in danger. This is not just a lover’s jealously.”
“How are we in danger?”
“It’s hard to explain, but I’ll say this, when you wake, his control over you will be no more. And with the first opportunity, I am going to kill Kevin.” He looked at Nina, she looked uneasy. He knew what she was thinking. “He won’t hurt you, I’ll protect you.” She looked at him. “I promise.”
“Thank you Roy get that bastard, make him pay for…”
Roy interrupted her. “Please don’t think to much into it. The next time you see him, keep this from him, if he knows what I’m planning… who knows what he’ll do.” Roy stood up, he gestured for Nina to do the same.
Roy put his arm around her.
“Roy.”
“Yes?”
“I like your hair, it looks nice. But your skin, its too perfect, you look like a girl, but it’s pretty.”
“Thank you.” He leaned toward her, “And to seal it with a kiss.” He closed his eyes and kissed Nina.
Roy opened his eyes and he was back in Nina’s room. “If only it was that easy.” He extended his index finger.
What appeared to be a piece of glowing dust formed on his finger, a faint glow, developed around his whole finger.
“I’ll see you tomorrow. I love you.” He placed his finger on her forehead. A bright yellow ripple pulsated through Nina’s body.
He again closed his eyes, and when he opened them he was on the couch.
Roy started to smile.
“She’s back.” Still smiling tears of joy fell.
He felt his mother getting out of bed, Roy quickly dried his eyes.
But as soon as she got out, she laid back down.
Roy sat in the dark, the extent of his powers hit him, he was in awe. I may be alone, but I have Nina, mom and everyone else. Because of him I am like this and can do so much more. Thank you.
He again closed his eyes, to open them to the white area. It was not the same as where he met his other self, it was solely an area formed from his mind. Where he could plan his next move, to devise a strategy.
“There is no way to know how strong he might be. But to assume he is weaker than me may lead to disaster. If he is stronger then it would be a bust. So to come up with a strategy let’s say we are equals and the only difference are tactics and reason to fight. He’ll be fighting for his life, but so will I, and I’ll also be fighting for Nina.“ But it then dawned on him something he was told when he arrived at his centre of being. “I can manipulate time, my perception of time. Theirs so many variables and factors and combinations of the two that it could take forever.” He said to himself. “If it takes forever lets equate a long ass time here to a second in real life.”
A person that resembled Kevin appeared.
“Lets start fighting.”
And from that to the time he stopped, an eternity of experience was put under Roy’s belts.
He opened his eyes, he was back in the living room. Beams of lights poured into the room through the window shades.
That took forever, like literally. Well at least I’m still sane. Being around that long sucked. Fighting the same damn person for thousands of years nonstop, with only slight variation, that shit was hard.He heard his mother walking down the stairs.
“Roy? You down there?” His mother asked. “Why are you downstairs at this time.”
A clock on the wall read seven AM.
She got down the stairs, “Roy what would you like to…” she stopped seeing Roy. “What did you do to your hair? Did you get a spray-on tan?”
“No, why?”
“Have you looked in the mirror?”
“Yeah, I like the way I look.”
Roy’s mother looked confused, but decided not to have any follow up questions.
She walked to the television and turned it on.
The news channel was on. An anchorman sat behind a large desk. “No further news or information has been found on the explosion last night. An investigation has found no evidence to suggest what caused it, and it can only be estimated the number of casualties. The explosion occurred between ten and one pm last night at a local store.” An image of the store appeared on the screen.
His mother’s jaw dropped, she slowly turned and looked at Roy.
“What?” he asked.
“Didn’t you go there last night?”
“Yeah?”
“When did you go?”
“Are you asking if a blew up a building?”
“No, just… did you?”
“No! Why would I?”
“Okay, I see.”
Back on the TV they were interviewing a witness.
Interviewer: “Sir, what did you see?”
Some Guy: “It blew up.”
Interviewer: “Can you give any detail on that?”
Some Guy: “Nope.”
The man walked from the camera’s view.
“They always pick the dumbest person.” His mother said, trying to change the conversation.
“Why would you say that?”
“It’s true, they do.”
“No about me blowing it up. Seriously why would you think that?”
“Well you do look different, maybe because you don’t want to be recognized.”
“No!”
“Then why do you look like that?”
“Because… because…” Why the fuck did this happen?“Because Nina moved here and I wanted to impress her.” He lied to her.
Her eyes were wide open, more surprised then she was about the shopping centre exploding.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“Her father got arrested for a bunch of stuff, so he’ll be in prison for like twenty years.”
“Really, have you seen her?”
“Yeah, at my school.”
“That’s so good, like a love story.” She hugged Roy. “How’d you get your skin so perfect? You look like a girl.”
“Lotion.”
“What time did you get to sleep last night?”
“I didn’t.”
“Are you going to go to school? Do you want me to drive you?”
“No, I’ll walk.”
“Okay.”
At the same time…
