escape was…unexpected. There is no point trying to remember where you have been, or what happened, because it will be impossible. You will know only when the time is right. We are aware that you have discovered that you possess abilities which defy logical explanation. Our advice is experimentation. But be careful. Your body is still adjusting and therefore will be quite unpredictable. You may end up hurting yourself or others.”
The voice stopped for a long beat and there was nothing but the crackle of wind again. My ear was glued to the phone and I had stopped breathing, not daring to miss a thing.
“ Alexander, you always wanted to be special and now you are. Go and be the person you always wanted to be. Remember though, we are keeping an eye on you. We will be in touch.”
The message ended, followed instantly by the female recorded voice informing me that the message had been successfully deleted. I pulled the phone away and stared at it. I hadn’t pressed anything. The message had deleted itself.
Freaked out, I threw the phone away from me like it was a giant insect. My heartbeat was a hummingbird fluttering its frantic wings inside my chest.
Someone took me? To keep me safe — but from what? I escaped- how? And from where? Where have I been? Millions of questions began to pour into my brain again. I felt so confused that I wanted to scream and rip my hair out. The rational part of my mind was yelling that none of this happened in real life. I felt torn. On the one hand, these people had kidnapped me and done god knows what. On the other hand, although it was crazy, I owed these people a lot. I looked and felt incredible.
The caller’s words echoed in my mind.
Our advice is experimentation.
Without thinking, I leaned over the edge of my bed. I fumbled in the abyss between frame and floor. Eventually my hand closed around what I was looking for and I dragged it out. It was one of a twin set of dumbbells John had given me for my 17th birthday. Looking at it now, I rolled my eyes. He might as well have written ‘man up’ on the gift tag.
I stripped the weights off and pushed them back under the bed with the heel of my foot. I was left with the metal bar. I weighed it in my hands. It certainly felt solid enough. I curled my hands into fists and took a deep breath. Then I twisted them against the bar, pushing upwards and towards the middle. The bar didn’t want to bend. My biceps threatened to split through my skin. I could feel the tendons in my neck straining from the effort. A growl of effort came from deep within.
Eventually, something gave way. When I looked back down, the bar resembled a U shape.
“No way!” I breathed. I pushed the metal further with the palm of my hands. It crossed over itself. I grabbed one end and with much less effort pulled it through the loop, tugging both ends like a shoelace. Now the bar was a giant knot.
I stared at the lump of metal in utter disbelief.
This is insane.
The phone ringing almost made me scream. I crawled over the bed and looked at the screen. The number was unknown. A cold chill ran through my body. Is it them? My throat was sandpaper as I picked up the handset and pressed the answer button. “Hello?” I croaked. “Alex, that you?” I sighed with a mixture of relief and disappointment. “Yeah it is, hi Tim. Your number came up unknown.” “House phone mate. Ex-direct. Anyway, just checking you’re ok.” I looked at the pretzel shaped dumbbell as confirmation. “Yeah I’m fine…great actually.”
Tim made an approving noise then stopped to shout at someone. “Sorry, my sister’s doing my head in. Anyway, glad to hear you’re ok. Oh before I forget, I wasn’t the only one worried about you.” His voice had changed and I could imagine him wearing his trademark dopey grin. “What do you mean?” “That ten…Gabriella? She was asking about for your number. I gave it to her, did she get in touch?” “Yeah she left a message,” I said.
Tim whistled. “Mate, I am so jealous, that girl has a soft spot for you. And she is so hot, I mean like…wow. Things are looking up hey Alex?” I gave a little chuckle. “You know what? I think you may be right.” “So where were you anyway?” I paused. I hadn’t thought about whether I was going to tell him or not yet. I needed time to think. “Sorry mate, I’ve got to go. My Mum’s calling me for dinner.” “Err…okay, cool. So does this mean you’ll be back tomorrow?” I glanced over at the wrap of metal on the bed and then to my upgraded reflection.
Go be the person you always wanted to be.
“I'll be there.”
6
As I wolfed down my breakfast the next day, I heard the post drop. John walked out to collect it.
I’d woken up an hour earlier than usual, almost jumping out of bed with energy. My hair had taken seconds to style. Clothes fit, rather than hanging off me like sacks. I’d bounded downstairs and helped Mum prepare breakfast and tidy the kitchen. She made no reference to the strange comment she’d made. Instead she was back to normal — all smiles and laughs.
“Well, you seem different today,” she’d laughed as I danced about, putting plates away, and humming a Soulfire song.
“I feel different.”
Now as I sat eating team effort pancakes, John returned to the kitchen and dropped a letter next to my plate. I frowned and picked it up. The envelope was high quality, its surface thick and the colour of fresh cream. The writing on the front was elaborate, dark ink scrawled across the paper like spider legs. No stamp. My fingers pressed against something hard inside. I knew this wasn’t a letter to open in front of an audience. So after breakfast, I headed into the hallway and locked myself in the downstairs toilet.
“Bro, we going or what?” Mikey called through the door.
“I’ll see you in the car,” I replied. “Keys are in the bag.”
Slipping my thumb into the corner of the flap, I tore the envelope open. My heart was beating double speed. I tipped the contents into my hand and stared. It was a black key fob. Confused, I peered into the envelope and noticed a small folded note. I opened it up. The message was written in the same spidery handwriting.
Parked on Mason Avenue. This should help you with your new life.
That was all. I crammed the note and keys into my pocket and flushed the toilet for effect. Grabbing my bag from the hall, I shouted goodbye and rushed out the door.
Mikey leaned back in his seat, lost in thought. I’d filled him in on everything I knew so far. The only thing I hadn’t mentioned was the letter and keys. I wasn’t sure what they meant myself yet. He looked over when I took a left instead of a right.
“Hey, just how badly did your memory get affected? You're going the wrong way!”
“I need to make a quick detour,” I replied.
Mason Avenue was a little street not too far from Town. Devoid of streetlights, it was dark and gloomy in the winter morning. Cars were parked nose to bumper on either side. Given the road’s closeness to town, it was doubtful that many of them actually belonged to the owners of the houses.
I parked up on the corner and climbed out.
“What's going on?” asked Mikey, winding down the window.
I ignored him and pulled the key out of my pocket. Held the fob in front of me and clicked the button as I walked. About a hundred yards away something flashed and beeped. I ran to the noise and my jaw dropped.
Sitting unassumingly between a Skoda and a Toyota was a brand new Audi sports car.
Its sleek silver body gleamed in the emerging sunlight. I pressed the fob a few more times just to make sure I was seeing things right. The lights blinked and the car beeped in response.
“Oh my god,” I breathed. I didn't know a huge amount about cars, but I knew this was an expensive one. Excitement swept through me as I opened the door and the intoxicating smell of new leather rushed out to greet me. On the driver’s seat was another small note.
Check the boot.
I fumbled about and found the button that opened it. Once popped, I headed around and lifted it. Bags filled the space. Names like Selfridges, Boss and Versace stamped on them like awards. They contained what must have
