Chapter Eight
When Travis awoke, he was in a sparsely
decorated room with two windows and a table. Someone had hooked him up to an IV
bag full of a clear liquid. His head throbbed, his body aching in places he
didn't know he could ache. The last thing he remembered was the fight with
Giovanni. That pipsqueak probably has something to do with this.
He sat up only to discover he was handcuffed
to the bed. "Giovanni, if you let me go, I promise you a death quick." When
no one replied, he pulled at the cuffs but only succeeded in chafing his skin.
A pit of fear formed in his stomach. "This
isn't funny anymore," he said, raising his voice, "Let me go right
now, or--"
The pitcher of water by his bedside exploded,
showering him with porcelain debris. The sound must have alerted Jenny because
she came into the room, red-eyed and haggard. "Oh, you're up," she said, a
nervous lilt to her voice, her medical bag clutched tight in hand.
"Mind telling me what happened?"
"Sure, sweetie. But can you stop shouting in
my head like that and talk normally?"
He did a double-take. "What
are you talking about?"
She worried her lips. "This whole time, you've
been communicating telepathically.
"Come again?"
She set her bag on the table and approached
him, her hands trembling. "Travis, you have powers. No, I'm not punking you or whatever you kids say today. I watched you
blow up helicopters and shoot fireballs at the police like you were a character
out of those video games you love so much."
"This isn't happening. Any second now, I'll
wake up."
Jenny rubbed his shoulder. "This is for real."
Mouth agape, eyes wide, he stared at her in
shock, not knowing what to say. She let him take things in a bit before telling
him how things would proceed. "Once we know you're not a threat to us, Dr. Hu
and I--"
"Who?"
"Dr. Hu is Agent Anderson's friend. You
remember him, right?"
He shook his head.
"What's the last thing you remember?"
"The fight."
Pursing her lips, she filled him in on what
happened.
"That bastard!"
"Who, sweetie?"
Growling, Travis told her to leave, so he
could think without anyone overhearing him. She nodded but checked his vitals
first. Once he was alone, he tried talking normally, but it was harder than he
expected. He checked his pockets and retrieved his phone, and opened the voice
memo app. "This is not happening," he spoke into the microphone. Hitting play,
he heard: "is pen ing."
Gritting his teeth, he tried again until he
managed to speak the whole sentence and then moved on to a longer one. And by
the time he was able to say a full paragraph, Jenny had returned with a new
pitcher of water and some sandwiches.
Eating with one hand proved difficult, so he
asked Jenny to release him.
"Let's see how you do these next few days,
okay?"
"Fine, but at least give me something to
read."
Nodding, she took the plate and returned with
a stack of books, most of which he'd either read already or wasn't interested
in. Though, there was a book on meditation and Zen Buddhism that piqued his
curiosity. He skimmed over the introduction and first chapter before digging
into the chapter on breathing and finding your center.
With nothing better to do, he closed his eyes
and took in a deep breath. He pictured a pinprick of light that grew with each
breath, and when it was as big as the sun, he sent it into every corner of his
body. A liquid warmth like being wrapped in an electric blanket enveloped
him.
Just when he was getting used to the
sensation, Oblivion butted in.
"Having fun, are we, boy?"
Travis's eyes shot open, his face a mask of
fear. But I defeated you!
"Let us not speak of our first
encounter."
What do you want?
"To talk and strike a bargain, perchance?"
About what?
"There are certain facts about your powers and
past that people close to you are hiding."
And how do you know that?
Oblivion laughed. "I've been watching
you for years."
Yeah. That's not helping your case at all.
"Ask your Jenny, your parents, your Grams."
Why should I believe you?
"Don't. Either way, I'll be in touch. Can't
wait to see what you're capable of, especially after Project Hellfire. . . ."
Oblivion's voice faded away, leaving Travis with
more questions than answers. If people were hiding things from him, they would
spill it, or he'd make them.
Jenny entered the room with dinner, breaking
his train of thought. "Time to chow down."
"Yeah . . . but first tell me about Project Hellfire."
Her eyes went wide. "How do you kno--"
"Don't try to change the subject."
She set down a tray of tomato soup and grilled
cheese sandwiches. "I'll get Agent Anderson and Dr. Hu. They know more about it
than me."
While he waited for them, he dug into his
meal, glad that he would finally get some answers. But why had Oblivion helped
him? He was evil incarnate, so what was his angle?
Travis would later learn that even the devil
has his good days.
Author's note: Looks like Travis didn't defeat
Oblivion like he thought, and what ulterior motives is he hiding from Travis?
Next
time, Travis finally gets some answers and begins training to control his
powers.
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