fingers grasped at Caitlyn lightly. She moved away from his touch. He sighed as if expecting that reaction and moved back across the room. “That Caitlyn, is the million dollar question. We are all slightly different; none of us are exactly the same.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, most of us can use telepathy and have telekinesis, although the extent to which everyone can do this varies greatly. And then others…”
Caitlyn held up her hand. Now she knew he was out of his mind. “Wait. Telepathy? Telekinesis? You’re joking, right? This is all some sick joke that you are playing on me. I mean, that is all fake.”
“No, it’s not. Think about it, Caitlyn. This ability has been in our DNA for centuries. Think about occurrences of Déjà vu, or people that claim to be able to bend spoons with their minds. Not every story is a fabrication. It’s just a lesser form of what we are. Some of us can quicken the healing process. You’ve heard of people that claim to be miracle workers, haven’t you? While there are a lot of frauds out there, there are some that are generally capable, but for whatever reason, their bodies have not taken the full leap that ours has.”
She decided to play along. “So, how do you figure out exactly what I am? What I’m capable of?”
“Basically, we won't be sure what you can do till you start the mentoring process.”
Caitlyn's brow furrowed. “The mentoring process?”
Garrett grabbed a chair, indicating for her to do the same. She shook her head no.
He frowned faintly at the rejection. “Every one of us that go through the Awakening has been given a mentor, to teach us, to learn from. That mentor helps them with the Awakening and follows them for weeks prior to make sure it is as smooth of a transition for them as possible.” He broke eye contact for the briefest of moments with her. “That's why I am here.”
“So, you are saying that you are my mentor.”
“Yes. I am here to guide you and to teach you. Could you imagine going through this on your own? We try to find every Potential before they Awaken. It can be a very daunting task.”
“So when I met you several weeks ago, you just pretended to be my friend.” Caitlyn responded sharply, unable to keep the hurt tone out of her voice.
“I didn't pretend anything, Caitlyn. It was easy to become friends with you. You are a very likable person and a good one at that. While yes, our initial meeting in the bar was premeditated, our friendship was… is, genuine. Becoming your friend first is not a requirement. I became your friend because I like you as a person. I am fond of you, Caitlyn.”
She made the decision to turn the doorknob. She needed to get out, she was suffocating and he was mad as a hatter. The walls were closing in around her and she recognized that she was having a panic attack. She fled from the apartment as fast as her feet would take her. Garrett quickly rose from his seat, following her.
She practically sprinted out of the main entrance to the building. She thought that the fresh night time air might make it better, might clear her head, but it only made it worse. Caitlyn was assaulted by the sound of the cars on the street, feet shuffling along the pavement, and the putrid smell of the garbage can by the door. Her eyes scanned the scene in front of her. Just like with Garrett, everything was sharper, clearer. She could see that even in the dark, the building that was across the street had small fissures throughout the foundation that were too small for the human eye to see. Caitlyn could pick out the individual blades of grass from the yard down the road, and could smell the cherry pie they must have had for dessert that evening from inside the house.
Could he be telling the truth? Was she really some evolved human with super abilities? She knew that all of this was not normal. It was all too much. Caitlyn bent her head down between her legs, resting her palms on her knees. Shaking, she felt like she was going to be sick. She wanted to make it stop.
She felt a set of hands touch her shoulders lightly, steadying her, raising her body back up. Concern outlined Garrett’s face. “It will be okay. I know this is a lot of