The next day, we returned to the trainyard. Sunlight reflected brightly off the train cars in front of me. I squinted, examining the side, finding a good starting point.
“The ladder is on the other side,” Nell said archly with her arms crossed.
“You know that’s not the point.”
“What is the point? Why would you need to climb a train?”
“Were you not listening to Alek?” I asked, bending my knees. “It’s practice, so eventually I can do it myself without your help.”
Nell’s frustration flared and I winced. She said, “I told you, I can protect us from them. You don’t need to be doing this.”
“I don’t doubt your ability to handle problems,” I said. “But two people with powers is better than one. Don’t you think they will account for your prowess if they do find us?”
Nell was quiet. “I guess so,” she admitted. “Sorry, this heat is making my head hurt.”
“That’s okay. Plus this is going to make you better at Shaping people too.”
That didn’t get the response I was expecting. Nell shut down again, blocking me from feeling whatever was trying to spill out. I still didn’t understand why she did that sometimes.
“Ready?”
“Yeah.”
“Here we go,” I hopped lightly onto a part of the metal frame, then springboarded off that, easily clearing the top of the train car. My feet landed on the top and I felt the heat of the sun-baked metal through my shoes. Woah.
I did a couple half squats, in disbelief that I had just done that with ease. I wasn’t in bad shape, dance kept my body fairly fit, but I was no athlete.
“Wow,” Nell called up to me. “How did you do that?”
I looked down at her and made a funny face. “What do you mean? You’re the one doing it.”
She stuck out her tongue. “Not the enhancements, dummy. You moved so naturally.”
“Not sure. I did do a bit of parkour in high school, I know the basics,” I mused. “And I had plenty of time to visualize that one.” I glanced out at the next train car. There was a gap to it, about as wide as one train car length. Further down, it seemed like most of the train cars on this track were spaced that far apart, like giant stepping stones.
“Let’s try it again.”
I lowered myself into a sprinter’s stance. My heart rate kicked up a notch and my head started to buzz. That anticipation grew until I couldn’t remain still any longer. I launched forward and was shocked to find that two strides took me to the edge of the traincar. Too late to bail. I jumped, pinwheeling my legs and arms as wind rushed by loudly in my ears. The ground looked so far away. Then the pull of gravity took hold and the train car roof came rushing up to meet me. I got my feet under me at the last second. My knee banged down and I rolled forward, doing my best to disperse the landing impact. I ended up on my back, panting as the sun beat down on me.
That was way too fun.
The roof was too hot to remain there, so I pushed myself up and dusted myself off. The knee would probably be bruised, but I barely felt it. Pain this minor wouldn’t hinder me. Not when I knew how bad it could get.
I gave Nell a thumbs up and felt a return tremor of excitement. It seemed she was feeling the rush too.
I cupped my hands together and shouted, “Okay! I’m not gonna stop for the next ones. Just keep it going!”
I needed to lock in the feeling and make it my own. Blood pumped powerfully through my limbs, driven by the rhythmic engine of my heart. Muscles swelled, focused on driving me forward. It felt good.
A single bound was all it took to make it to the edge. I leapt, ready this time, more controlled. A moment of weightlessness, my eyes laser focused on the next landing point. I landed, immediately swinging my leg forward to keep my momentum.
Another jump, another satisfying noise as my foot made solid contact with the roof. My legs pumped, the wind cooled my face, and the background seemed to fade away as I focused on each step. This felt really good. Like I was alive in a way I had never experienced before. A kind of instinctual satisfaction from being able to move like this. I was bounding, gravity had less of a hold on me.
The next train car was further than the others. But I could make it. It was coming up quick, the space on the train car quickly being eaten up. I needed more speed. I-
As I jumped, my foot clanged against the ladder that stuck up over the top. Suddenly I was airborne, but my feet were higher than my head. The ground rushed by, getting closer. Time seemed to slow. Then the train car appeared, inches from my face. I crashed down, sliding painfully over the top, then over the side. At the last second I caught the edge, making my body swing around and hit the side of the train car.
I hung there for the few seconds it took for my fingers to start to get painfully hot, then I let go, tumbling to the ground, gravel skittering away from me. My heart beat like I was still sprinting as I stared at the mechanical underside of the train car. “Nell,” I said out loud, even though she wasn’t in earshot. “Stop. I’m done.” The sun’s heat bared down on the side of my face that wasn’t lying against sharp bits of gravel as I tried to slow my breathing.
Eventually I sat up and scooted into the shade, where I watched Nell approach. By the time she made it to me, she was sweating as much as I was and breathing heavily.
“Not bad for a first time,” I said, prodding my already swelling shoulder. “But I think I dislocated it.”
“Jesus,” Nell said, sucking in air. “I thought you were gonna break your neck.”
“Nah, help me up. Let’s go back to the warehouse. Hopefully it’s cooler and we can get some pointers from Alek.”
Nell staggered as she tried to pull me upright. I managed to rise and limp towards the warehouse.
“He’s in a foul mood,” Nell warned. “He was glaring at the back of your head earlier as he watched.”
We rounded the corner of the warehouse and Alek’s voice filtered over to us. “No, I don’t care about that. Give me something I can use.”
I exchanged a look with Nell. We stopped and listened.
“Don’t get snippy with me. I’ll rip your lips off. Blyat. Keep me posted. I’ll know if it’s something good.”
There might have been another voice, but it was so faint I might have imagined it.
Alek seemingly responded to it. “You can’t be that busy. This is all you’re good for. Now scram.”
Alek fell silent and I walked into view.
I eyed him, sitting in a lawn chair near the open shutter door of the warehouse, drinking a beer. The cooler beside him gave me false hope of refreshments, I knew it was just fish inside. Still, I might be desperate enough to dunk my head in.
“You’re too slow,” Alek said abruptly as we drew near.
I looked at him crossly. “Really? Come on man, it’s only been a day. I’m still figuring things out.”
Alek slouched a little lower in his chair and took a swig from his bottle.
I collapsed into the open chair next to him. My injuries immediately protested loudly. “Phew, this is a little above and beyond my usual exercise,” I joked as I examined my arms. Bruises, but they were also more toned than I remembered. “Feels like cheating,” I murmured.
Alek and Nell both looked at me with confusion.
I shrugged. “I know guys who work out daily for this kind of pay off.”
“Your shoulder is dislocated and your leg has a hairline fracture,” Nell said, eyeing me cautiously. “I was going to fix them… but I thought you might be too tired to take it.”
“What’s the risk?” I asked. “I just get super hungry and skinny? I’ll take that over the pain.”
Alek snorted.
“What?”
He kicked the cooler idly. “You haven’t experienced it yet, huh? How hungry we can get.”
I eyed Nell, but she didn’t seem to know what he was talking about either.
“It feels good, da?” Alek said, seeming to switch moods in an instant. His face was eager. “Do you feel powerful?”
I grinned at Nell. “Yeah, it’s pretty fun. I must’ve looked pretty dumb on that last jump. Nearly face planted.”
Nell smiled back but her eyes looked distant. I leaned back in the chair, wondering what she was thinking about. Was it possible to find out? I closed my eyes and tried to focus on my emotions. Exhaustion, waning excitement. Where was Nell?
In my weariness, I allowed myself to slip into a daydream. After a moment of flitting between half-thoughts, an image swam into focus. A dandelion grew out of a crack in the concrete. The surroundings were dark and blurry, like they were covered by a veil.
I could feel it. The stem, cool and firm. Nell brushed the leaves and I felt the gentle sensation on my fingertips. The dandelion leaves began to curl inwards, green leaves covering up the yellow. Then tufts of white fluff emerged. Slowly at first, then, like a scared cat, they puffed out all at once into a round ball of fluff.
My eyes opened. Nell was looking at me, a real smile on her face. She puffed out her cheeks. I closed my eyes again and saw the dandelion. We blew and the individual seeds relinquished their grip and surrendered to the air current. I watched the seeds voyage into the dark, bumping into something I couldn’t see and carrying on their way.
My focus slid from the dandelion to the surrounding darkness. There was something there, I caught glimpses of movement, and with those brief flits, I smelled dirt and… cleaning supplies. It stung my nose. I thought I might hear a voice too, barking strict orders but I couldn’t make out the words. I just got the feeling that they were demands, shouted in fear.
I opened my eyes and the sensation vanished. I felt guilty, like I had observed something I shouldn’t have. Unless that feeling was from Nell. She was idly picking at threads on her jeans.
“So… your captors,” I said to Nell. “They tried to keep plants away from you?”
Nell gave me a sly look. “They tried. I could usually find something, even if it was just a tiny seed. I had to be careful though. I didn’t want her finding out if I messed around too much.”
The ring leader from Cathrow. It didn’t take much to ignite Nell’s ire towards her. I could feel it radiating off of her as easily as I felt the sun’s heat.
“Sorry to cut the conversation short,” Alek said, sounding anything but. “Are you going again, or what?”
I shot an annoyed look at Alek. He seemed impatient and distracted. “Say Alek. You said before that you didn’t know why or how we got these powers. If you had to guess, what would you say it was?”
Alek wiped his mouth on his arm and stared at the wall. “Odnohuystvenno,” he muttered. “I don’t care. Be it god or aliens or magic, it doesn’t matter. What matters is what I do with it.”
He sniffed and rubbed his eyes. “I need another drink.”