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A longer chapter this time. More emotional stuff happens. A good chapter for Alice fans. And I'm sorry if I offend anyone with Alice and Storm's discussion. This chapter wrote really easy for me, and i couldn't cut it in half, so i hope you enjoy.

Even though I have many Twilight series references, i don't own the books (I own copies, though). However, this is my story, so please don't steal it.

Following Coelan, we walked into a large, cavernous area at the rear of the warehouse, I assumed it was the training area, as along the left hand side of the building, mats were piled up, and a few punching bags hung from the ceiling. There were also targets along the back wall, a maze in the back left corner, and underneath the targets, a few feet from the back wall, a balance beam and parallel bars.

“Alice is a gymnast,” Holly told me.

“This is where we train,” Coelan said, confirming my assumption. "Mats and punching bags for martial arts, a balance beam and parallel bars for gymnastics- good for your core strength. In the maze, we split into two groups, and have to lay traps for the other team, and make it out the way they came in before they get out the way you came in. finally if you’ll look up, see catwalks and forts. Up there, we play flags. You know- you have to get the other team’s flag before they get yours.”

“So basically, you train physically and strategically,” I said.

“Yep. Got it in one,” Coelan said. “We use the centre of the room to improve our skills. Toby, Holly, care to give a demonstration?”

“You’re on!” agreed Toby.

“You are so going down, Tobes,” challenged Holly.

“Three words. Bring. It. On.”

As they moved into the centre, the others moved off to do their own training- they’d seen this before. Alice went to the balance beam and Austen and Lisa climbed the ladder up to the catwalks. Coelan and Josh stayed with Jez and me.

Holly and Toby started circling each other. Suddenly, Toby flicked a ball of flame at Holly. She blocked it easily, a swipe of her hand sending it careening into the floor, where it burned for a few seconds before dying out.

“Come on, Toby. You can do better than that,” Holly taunted.

“Just getting fired up- pun intended,” Toby responded, flinging two balls of flame at Holly.
Holly arranged two force fields to send the fire-balls rocketing back at Toby, hitting him in the chest.

“Great balls of fire!” she sang.

“You know, if that would’ve hurt me, I would have been rather annoyed,” Toby grumbled.

“Oh, really? Should I be scared? Maybe you should let some of that emotion through. Perhaps you would finally be able to beat me then?” Holly teased.

Enraged, Toby launched three fire-balls in quick succession. Holly caught them and encircled them in a force field completely. Just as she was about to launch them back, there was a loud clang from the catwalks overhead.

“What the hell are you doing up there, Lisa?” Holly yelled up at her sister.

“Nothing,” floated down the reply.

“Oh, I’m sur-- OW!! JOSHUA!!” Holly screamed.

Josh rushed over to help her.

It took me a second to realise what had happened. Taking advantage of Holly's distraction, Toby had thrown a fire-ball at her leg, below her knee and the hem of her shorts. Holly had used a force field to get the fire of her- launching it furiously at Toby- and screaming to Joshua to heal her.

Lisa had raced down the ladder, and after Holly was healed, the sisters set after Toby with a vengeance.

“That was really low, Toby,” Lisa said, vanishing.

“Figuratively, as well as literally,” Holly said, trapping Toby in a force field and stalking towards him, her face murderous.

As Holly came within two feet of Toby, Lisa reappeared behind him, and holly shrank the force field so it was just around his hands. I presumed this was so he couldn’t hurt them by creating fire.

Holly and Lisa then began to attack Toby martial arts moves that I could recognise, stopping when he was on the floor, each of them kneeling on one of his arms.

“You’re lucky Coelan won’t let us beat the crap out of you, Toby,” holly threatened. The sisters then got up and left him, Lisa climbing back up to the catwalks, and Holly going to talk to Alice.

After Joshua had healed Toby- which I had to admit was very impressive- he walked up to the catwalks, my sister in tow. They were going to verse Austen and Lisa at flags. I hoped.
Toby walked over to one of the punching bags- the furthest one from Holly. Coelan and I followed him.

“Care for some kumite?” Coelan invited, getting a couple of mats from the pile.

“Sure,” I replied, eager to get back into my martial arts.

Coelan and I were having a drinks break when I received some thoughts from my sister that I really did not want.

“Jezabel Ellen Brandon! I so did not need that!” I yelled in her direction.
Get out of my head! Came her reply.

I wish I could. Come down. We’re going home.

Everybody I could see was staring at me, except for Alice. I presumed that she foresaw my outburst, and was unfazed when it actually happened.

To Coelan, I said, “we better leave now. We’ve been here longer than I expected, and I want to get home before our parents.”

“No problem,” he responded, getting over my sudden yell. “Shall we meet the same time next week?”

“Okay. See you then.”

Jez and I left after exchanging mobile numbers with everyone.

You didn’t have to explode at me like that, Jez sulked when we were in the car.

What was I supposed to do? I’m your older brother! No brother should have to feel that. Especially when they feel it as clear as if it were them. I shuddered.

You’re only older by seven minutes! Besides, I'm sure you’ll find a girl one day and force me to go through it too. Jez shuddered.

We were both completely disgusted.

Can we not think about this now? I really don’t want any puke in my car.

So... you’re telekinetic, Jez said, successfully changing the subject. Perhaps I should be the jealous one now?

Embarrassed, I apologised. Sorry. I didn’t think you knew. I didn’t want you to think I was petty. Sorry for yelling at you before, too.

That’s okay, Storm. I understand, and I don’t think you're petty. Hey, at least something good came of it- you discovered you also have an additional ‘skill’, as Coelan called it.

I want to practise when we get home. Wow. Telekinesis. That’s awesome.

Yeah, it’s pretty impressive. Maybe you should start by trying to move a straw. They're light and shouldn’t be too dangerous if you lose control. If we had any feathers, we could’ve used those, but I'm pretty sure we don’t.

Thanks. We better make sure Mum and Dad don’t see. That could be awkward.

We got home 15 minutes before our parents, which was just enough time for us to find some straws, stash them in my room and grab a snack before they walked in the door.

Our father is an orthopaedic surgeon and our mother is a biomedical engineer. They both work at the same hospital, about twenty minutes away from our home, so they drive to work together.

“How was your day? Any discoveries?” Jez and I asked together.

“Good. It was an easy day,” our father said.

“Nothing new,” our mother answered the second question. “What about you? Do anything interesting?”

“Not really. We went for a drive. Might go out again tomorrow,” I said.

“Yeah, it was good. We’d like to go back to doing our karate again, too,” Jez said.

“That’s easy enough. We’ve already paid for the year, and you can drive yourselves down there,” our mother replied, pleased.

At that, Jez and I retreated upstairs.

Mum and Dad are happy we’re going back to our martial arts. I think they’re afraid about our wellbeing.

Maybe.

By this time, we’d reached my room and were sitting on the floor, the straws we’d collected sitting in a small pile between us.

Maybe you should start by focusing on the straws, Jez suggested.

I just looked at her. Duh.

Staring at one of the straws, I concentrated on willing it to float a couple of feet off the ground. After five minutes, I gave up. This isn’t working.

Jez suddenly sprang to her feet. You could almost see the light bulb flashing above her head.

Good idea, I encouraged.

A minute later, she was back in my room, mobile in hand, texting furiously.

There, she said when she’d finished. Alice can tell me how long it will take for you to be able to use your power at will.

BEEP. BEEP.

That’s her.

I read the message though Jez’s eyes.


If he keeps practising, 2 days.



Two days? Jez thought. That’s not so bad.

Are you kidding? I have to stare at a piece of plastic for two whole days?

BEEP. BEEP.

My phone this time. Alice.


Suck it in, Storm. At this rate, it’ll never happen.


Grumbling, I returned to staring at the straws.

Hey, I think that one just twitched, Jez said.

I glared at her.

Okay, I’m going, I'm going. Jez got up and went to her own room, her thoughts switching path, back towards the same things as this afternoon.

Jezabel!

Maybe you should concentrate on your straws, she thought patronisingly. Concentrating on something else tends to dull your thoughts.

Stop breaking my concentration, then, I bickered.

If only distance helped.

If only. I need to go for a drive, I conceded.

Okay. Please try concentrating, Jez said unnecessarily, letting me go. She could see that I needed to be alone- as alone as one can get when they share their twin’s mind.

Grabbing the straws and shoving them in the pocket of my jeans, I went downstairs, told my parents I’d be back for dinner, and rushed into the garage through the door in the kitchen.
Sitting in my car, I began to feel better already. The smooth purr of the engine soothed me with its familiarity.

I drove, not knowing where I was going at first, then realising I was headed towards a place I used to go to before the accident, especially when I needed time alone.

So much strangeness had occurred recently that I found myself seeking, needing, the comforts of things I knew before.

I arrived at the graveyard several minutes later. Getting out of my car, I wound my way through the graves until I found the one I was looking for. Sitting down on the grass next o it, I began to think about the man under the ground beside me.

My grandfather- my mother’s father- had died two years ago, when Jez and I were 15. I was very close to him, always going to him whenever I needed guidance. Hen he died from lung cancer, I was devastated. The death of a loved one ages you lot. After the funeral, I would come down here to the graveyard and just talk to him, feeling that he was still here, guiding me, helping me.

“I need help, Pop. You’d know about that weird storm. And now Jez and I have been stuck with this huge responsibility to save the world from some psychotic freak. Coelan reckons it’s been prophesised. So now it turns out that I'm telekinetic. But it’s just so frustrating. Jez and I can’t escape each other, and I'm supposed to develop some ‘skill’ with no idea how,” I said, pulling the straws from my pocket and throwing them on the grass.

I felt a calming presence sitting down by my side. It sharpened my focus and guided my concentration.

Staring at the straws, I felt power rushing through my body. Harnessing tis power, I pushed it out from my mind, towards the straw, lifting the little piece of plastic several feet into the air before dropping it into my hand.

“Thank you, Pop,” I whispered, grateful.

Most of the presence lifted then, though some of it stayed, helping me to control myself so I didn’t destroy anything with my excitement.

I stayed by the grave for a while longer, watching as the sun set and the sky grew darker.
Standing and turning to leave, I was surprised to see a dark figure standing behind me.

“Congratulations, Storm,” she said, moving closer.

“Alice? How long have you been there?”

“Not long. Not that it matters, I foresaw everything anyway.” Pre-empting my next question, she
said, “My visions are very subjective. I can only see the path someone’s on while they’re on it. As soon as they alter their course, the whole future changes. Before you decided to come here, I couldn’t see what just happened. Holly lives next door to me. I had her drop me off.
Don’t worry, I didn’t tell her anything.”

“Oh,” I said simply, not knowing what else I could say. “Did you need a lift home?”

I started to walk towards the car park.

“Yes, thank you,” answered Alice brightly, following me.

“so why did you come here?” I wondered.

“I’m not sure. I saw myself meet you. After that, my vision ended.”

“well I’m glad you came,” I said truthfully. “I need some company other than my sister. It’s... difficult, knowing every single thing your sibling thinks. I came here to get away. Not that distance helps.”

“I understand. You were very close to your grandfather, weren’t you?”

“yes. He was my guide; whenever I needed support or help, he was always there.”

“His passing was difficult for you,” she stated in a knowing way.

I nodded. “When I come here, sometimes I sense he is there, guiding me again, like tonight, with my skill. I'm sorry. You think I'm crazy don’t you?”

“Not at all. When I was younger, my parents thought I was crazy when I told them about what I saw. They made me see a councillor until I learned to keep my mouth shut and not say anything. I'm lucky I wasn’t born fifty years earlier- they would have put me in an asylum.

“Wow. So your parents weren’t very supportive.”

“Nope. Adults- parents especially-want everything to be ‘normal’. They want to have kids who will be clones of everyone else’s, kids who’ll grow up to have a life that is doppelganger of their parents’; boring, monotonous and ‘normal’. They tell us we’re special, but if their child truly is special, they treat them as an outcast.”
I gave her a hug as we reached my car. “I really hate the word ‘normal’. What is normal anyway?” I asked rhetorically. “where do you live, Alice?”

We continued our discussion after she told me.

“You know, when they say everyone’s special, it’s just like they’re saying no one is,” I said. “they’re pushing us towards the same sheep-like uniformity that they were brought up into.”

“It makes you admire artists more, doesn’t it?” Alice said to me. “Those who break away, who stand out, who are individuals, are the brave ones. Especially the ones who create a new type of music, artwork or dance.”

“And yet, if everybody broke away from what’s ‘normal’, then everybody would be the same again.”

“It’s human nature,” Alice said as I parked in her driveway. “We don’t like to be alone.”

Smiling, I said, “Then I’m very glad you came to meet me. And thanks for this philosophical discussion, Alice. You’ve given me much to think about.”

“You’re welcome,” she said. Then, blushing, she kissed me on the cheek before jumping out of my car and dancing up to her house and in the door.

Someone’s crushing on Alice, Jez sang in my head as I drove away. Strangely, I had not noticed her presence until this moment.

It’s all about distractions. I’ve been paying attention ever since you managed to harness you power. Congratulations, by the way.

Thanks.

Oh, Mum’s almost finished dinner, and she’s starting to worry where you are.

I'm only a few minutes away. What’s for dinner?

Lasagne.

Yum.