Author’s note- Hi, finally came up with a chapter title. Enjoy~

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After the Play

The play ended after an hour or two, and my parents called as I predicted, saying they couldn’t drive me. So I told them I was going with Chloe, and that I would be stopping at their house before coming home. They seemed a bit disgruntled about how fast our relationship was progressing, murmuring about young people these days. But they were still ok with it, and Chloe’s parents were ok with it as well.

So when her dad pulled up, he didn’t seem surprised. But I was still a bit nervous.

Chloe’s dad- “Well, you coming along?”

Chloe- “Nathaniel, don’t be nervous. Come on!”

She grabbed my hand and pulled me into the backseat along with her. And while I was still stunned, she patted my shoulder and pulled my seatbelt over my chest.

Chloe- “Man, you seem really out of it today. Put on your seatbelt, so we can go!”

Nodding my head, I buckled my seatbelt and asked Chloe,

Me- “So, what did you think about the play?”

Chloe- “It was too sad. The whole play was hopeful, but that was the only thing that was never fulfilled in the play.”

Chloe’s dad- “Well, that was real life back then. It may sound terrible, but that people group really got the short end of the stick.”

The drive went on in silence, and we arrived at their house a short while later.

Chloe’s dad- “Martha, we have a guest!”

Martha (Chloe’s mom)- “Oh!”

She rushed out of the kitchen holding a rag, and she was wearing an apron.

Martha- “I was just getting dinner ready Carol. But how are you doing Nathaniel? Everything going ok?”

I nodded my head with a smile, to put on a front that everything was alright. Thankfully, she didn’t catch on. But Chloe, who had a more recent knowledge on events, could definitely tell.

Chloe- “Hey Nathaniel, do you want to hang out in my room until dinner is ready?”

Me- “Sure.”

Chloe- “Well then, hold on a bit. I’ll call when the room is ready.”

She ran upstairs, and I could hear the faint sound of a door shutting moments later. And when she was out of earshot, Carol remarked jokingly,

Carol- “Her room is almost never clean. But with a guest here, I don’t even have to ask her to clean it!”

I smiled, and he started chuckling a little. He motioned to the couch for me to sit, and I obliged him. When we had both sat down, Carol’s face became serious.

Carol- “I think you’ve got an eye for my daughter, don’t you.”

It was a statement, not a question. I answered seriously as well,

Me- “Yes sir.”

Carol- “Well at least you can admit it. So, I need a statement from you. Will you and can you, take care of my daughter?”

He was trying to test my character by my answer. But I couldn’t think of the best way to answer. If I answered yes, then I would be lying to him and myself. And I think he would be able to tell. If I answered no, then I would be lying as well. This would also be the answer he wouldn’t want to hear. But when is anything ever just black and white?

Me- “I cannot take care of her now, but I will be able to in the future. And I will not take a step further, until the moment I actually can.”

He looked somewhat surprised that I answered in that way. But he smiled and said,

Carol- “I guess that’s the most truthful answer I can get out of you so far. But what’s my guarantee? How do I know you’ll keep your word?”

Me- “My pride as a man. Your approval will be the standard I’ll be aiming for. And since she was your daughter first, I have no right to challenge your standards. Chloe is worth whatever price I have to pay.”

Carol- “Well, you’ve got one thing right. But can you ever own up to my standards?”

Me- “I might not, but I’ll go at it with everything I have.”

He patted my shoulder and got up from the couch.

Carol- “Well, it seems you’ve been giving it some thought. And all I have to say now is good luck trying!”

Walking over to the kitchen, he left me alone on the couch. And I thought about it seriously. Could I ever be worthy of her with all this mess surrounding me? Could I ever really protect her when my life is at risk?

The answer was no. To let Chloe live the life she deserves, I have to be stronger. Stronger than any threat to my life, stronger than the organization and their tricks, stronger than anything that becomes an obstacle in our path.

Suddenly, it felt like something had been cleared in my mind and body. A hot current flew like a roaring dragon, rampaging throughout my body. A few cracking sounds came from within, and I stood up feeling stronger than ever before. I wasn’t as strong as I needed to be, but I felt closer. It was enough for now.

And as I felt the need to test my ‘new’ body, Chloe’s voice came from upstairs,

Chloe- “Nathaniel, I’m ready! You can come up now!”

I walked up the stairs, and when I had gotten up all of them, I saw Chloe open a door. They say that entering one’s room was like entering through the doorway to one’s soul. Or was that looking into the eyes?

When I walked in, I noticed her room looked nice. It had walls that were tinted slightly yellow, with wallpapers on some games and anime tacked in. Her bed was placed opposite to the door, with a dresser next to it. And resting on the carpet was her dog, Max. He walked up to greet me soon after.

Chloe gave a half smile, then walked behind me to close the door.

Chloe- “Yeah, I know it’s still a bit messy in here. But tell me, what was that stuff earlier all about?”

Me- “Do you promise you won’t tell anyone if I show you?”

Chloe- “Yeah.”

Me- “Then grab a cover, it might get cold.”

She looked at me, somewhat confused, but she got the cover anyway. And in that moment, I gathered a flame point. The room became much colder, and I asked Chloe,

Me- “See that distortion of the air? In front of your chest? Don’t touch it; it’s hot!”

Chloe’s eyes were drawn to it, and I moved the distortion about a foot away. Her eyes followed it.

Chloe- “How are you doing this!?”

Me- “Just watch for now. And don’t get startled by what I’m about to do next.”

I disrupted the flame point, and suddenly it burst into flames. Chloe stared into the burning fireball for a second, and then she looked into my eyes.

Chloe- “Is this why they found you? Because you can do this?”

I fidgeted around nervously and nodded my head.

Me- “They came after me, in the theater. I almost died, so many times…”

Chloe- “What happened?”

Me- “Well, it was like this…”

I recounted the events of the theater to Chloe, and she remained silent for a while. I was unsure of what to say as well, so I didn’t say anything.

Chloe- “I didn’t realize it was this serious. I didn’t realize that those minutes could of been my last with you… Nathaniel. Sit with me for a second…”

She made room on the bed, and I sat down next to her. My heart was pounding; I didn’t know what she was going to say. She placed her hand on mine, and whispered,

Chloe- “Do you know what my family name, Lockhart, means?”

I shook my head, unsure of why she was asking me this.

Chloe- “Brave, hardy, strong. I can’t just watch you risking your life without doing anything.”

Me- “But what can you do? You’re different than me. You don’t have any ability that can protect you from their snipers or other ability users!”

Chloe- “No. I don’t. But I do have this.”

She got up and went looking through her dresser. And she pulled something out, but I couldn’t see what it was since she covered it with her hand. She walked back over to the bed and sat next to me.

Me- “What is it?”

Chloe smiled and put her arm around me.

Chloe- “I got it from my grandad. I heard from him that grandma was surrounded with mystery, just like you are. This amulet was given to him by her, to protect him. Dad gave the same to me, and now I will give it to you. May it keep you safe.”

She opened her hand, and a purple amulet was within. It shone eerily, with a ghastly blue glow surrounding it. And I could feel a reaction from within the deepest regions of my body. A feeling of familiarity.

Me- “Chloe, this is too valuable. I can’t take this…”

Chloe- “You need it much more than I do. Wear it always.”

With a gentle hug, she placed the amulet around my neck. And a sweet feeling spread throughout my body.

Me- “I won’t forget this. Thanks.”

Chloe nodded, but she still looked somewhat sad.

Chloe- “I just hope that it will keep you safe…”

I drew her into a tight hug, and she hugged me back.

Me- “I love you.”

Chloe- “I love you too.”

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A little while later, we ended up being disrupted by her dog, Max, and Chloe’s parents. I said my goodbyes, and I went to walk home. And when I arrived, Mom and Dad were not home. Although, it was to be expected. If they couldn’t pick me up, of course they were working at their jobs.

I turned on the lights in my room, and picked up ‘A beginning to your Ability’ again. I needed to finish this book as soon as possible, so I could be more prepared when fighting other ability users.

‘The third application is training your ability. This comes directly from our second assumption. If we can assume that a stronger thought will evoke a stronger ability, than using your ability more often will make your thoughts of your ability stronger. It’s similar to training a muscle. Using it more often will increase its strength.

‘The fourth application is attachment. The only way to use body enhancement related abilities is to attach it to your body. But for manipulation related abilities, things can be a little different. Manipulators can attach their ability to a mundane object, such as a needle, and release it from this object. This is complicated to perform, but the best way is to touch what’s most important to the manipulator while having a singular desire. Your subconscious will control your ability for you and imprint your desire.

The last application is advancement. Once your ability reaches a boundary, you will find that no amount of willpower strengthening will advance your ability. This happens because the original control of your ability is within your subconscious, and it limits the amount of your ability you can control in the same way it limits the amount of strength each of your muscles can use.

It is unknown how exactly this happens, but with an ability crystal, one can communicate with their subconscious. By directly transmitting a desire to grow to your subconscious, it will transmit more control of your ability over to your conscious mind. This can have varied results depending on the ability, meaning we will not explain further in this book. So look forward to the next volume of-’

I shut the book, already knowing there was nothing of further value to read. Then I started practicing my ability by igniting a flame and moving it around. I did this until the urge to try out my ‘new’ body grew stronger than my desire for training.

The feeling earlier at Chloe’s house led me to believe that I personally had become stronger. Combined with the fact that it seemed to heal my body at the theater, I was ready to put the ability to the test.

Grabbing a steak knife from the kitchen, I went to the shower. I turned on the water and held the knife to the back of my hand. And no, I’m not suicidal…

(Author's musings- Don’t try this at home kids! I don’t want to be responsible for anybody being hurt to try out a fictional ability!)

Me- ‘Tch’ “That stings...”

Blood started seeping out of the wound in my hand. But the hot feeling emerged again from within my body, and the blood stopped flowing in a matter of seconds. I watched in fascination as the wound started to mend itself at a visible rate! And after about a minute, the wound was gone without a trace.

The healing aspect of the body strengthening worked for sure. Now it was time to test my actual strength.

I messaged Julian, but he didn’t end up responding. What a reliable martial arts buddy… I guess he didn’t want to fight this late. And that left me with two options.

The first one would be to go on the streets and play the superhero. As long as I didn’t use my ability, the organization wouldn’t return the wounds. So that way I could have a chance to gauge my current strength, while getting rid of crime. It was a crazy neighborhood anyway.

But this option had three issues. One, I didn’t know if I would even encounter a crime I could handle without the use of my ability, two, I would be sowing bad beef with the street, and three, those in the street were not an accurate standard I could measure myself by.

The second option would be to call the beginner instructor, Joyce Kim, and arrange a meeting. Being an instructor from the organization, she would definitely have an accurate way to gauge my ability, and even increase my strength. And being a mission from the organization, I would be able to exempt myself from killing for a whole year if I was lucky enough.

But letting her gauge my strength was the same of letting the organization know the extent of my powers. And the organization wasn’t exactly my friend either. But we were allies to an extent. So…

Realizing that I’d probably regret my decision in the future, I pulled out my phone and dialed Joyce Kim’s number.

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