Forces of Nature, Chapter 4 by DGB
This story is a product of my imagination and under my copyright, so no reposting/publishing without my consent. If you are not of legal age or somewhere in which this document is illegal, please stop reading and focus on getting someplace safer.
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Jake was wide awake by 5:30 Monday morning, too excited to fall back asleep. At 6 he gave up on sleeping and got out of bed to take a quick shower. Normally he wasn't a big fan of breakfast, but since Alex had made a big ado about lunch the day before he decided it was probably a good idea. Jake wanted to be in top form for testing of his powers.
With breakfast squared away he focused on his next problem; what does one wear to a magic observatory? He wasn't exactly going to work, but he also wanted to impress Alex's grandfather, and there was no telling who else he was going to meet. A suit probably wasn't necessary, but jeans might be too casual.
In the end he opted for a pair of slacks and a dress shirt like he normally wore to the office, and put a tie into his backpack just in case. The backpack was probably overkill but he had decided last night that he wanted to be prepared for anything. The backpack held a notebook and some pens, a spare charger for his phone, and his kindle just in case he had some down time.
Mostly his bag was for comfort, something familiar to keep him grounded in all this and make it seem like less of a dream. Jake stood in the kitchen, absently summoning little orbs of water above the sink when his phone finally dinged; Alex was outside. "Be down in a minute," he quickly texted back.
Alex was surprised to see his new friend walk out with a travel mug in each hand. Alex leaned over the center console to open the passenger door.
"Good morning! You never said if you found your coffee pot so I figured I'd bring you some for the road," Jake intoned.
"Are you always this thoughtful, or just trying to make a good impression?" Alex teased before taking a sip. "Oh man this is way better than what they have at the lab." Drinking some more he maneuvered the car into traffic. "You look spiffy today. I should have told you we usually just wear jeans and polos unless there is a tour group or someone important coming in."
Jake kept his mouth shut about the tie in his backpack, "This is what I normally wore to work so I figured it would be safe. I can run back upstairs and change if you want to circle around the block. I wasn't really sure what I'd be doing today."
"Nah you're fine. I don't really know what you'll be doing either, but I leave some clothes in grandpa's apartment you can borrow if nothing else. I talked to him last night and he wants to meet you as soon as we get there. He said he'd try to answer any questions you have about manipulators and do some testing on your powers. Don't worry, it doesn't hurt or anything. We do the testing every year or so just like a physical at the doctor, without the turn your head and cough bit."
Jake couldn't help but laugh at that. Their chatter continued the rest of the way to the observatory, with Alex filling him in on who he might run into. "The secure areas are restricted to manipulator only access, but assume everyone else is normal unless I tell you otherwise," was Alex's final instruction.
He drove around the back of the observatory and parked beside a non-descript door. "Grandpa told me to just bring you to his apartment. He figured it might be best to skip reception and stuff until we come up with a good cover story of why you are getting a tour of secure areas."
"Oh, that makes sense," Jake answered in a quiet voice. "Now that we are here I'm not sure this was such a good idea. I don't want to screw anything up."
Alex turned off the car and gave his full attention to his friend, "I promise you nothing bad will happen. If you knew half the shit I've screwed up over the years you wouldn't be worried at all. I meant what I said last night; I'm here to help you if you'll let me. And so is grandpa."
"Sorry, I just feel like my whole world has been turned upside down." Jake inhaled a deep breath, slowly blowing out, "Ok, let's get this over with."
The boys were almost to the door when it opened from the inside, framing an older gentleman with the same read hair and playful eyes of his friend. "Good morning favorite grandson of mine," he said as he pulled Alex into a hug.
"I'm your only grandson."
The old man winked, "I know, you don't have any competition."
Jake was caught off guard when he was the next to be pulled into a hug, "And you must be Jake."
His nervousness over meeting the man evaporated. "It's good to meet you sir. Alex speaks fondly of you. I'm really sorry for any problems I caused with that storm two weeks ago. I didn't mean any harm."
"It's ok son, Alex explained everything to me. You aren't the first manipulator that caused an energy surge, and you won't be the last. Even those of us that know how to control our powers can still lose control in some situations. No one blames you for what happened."
Before he realized what he was doing Jake had wrapped his arms around the elderly man for another hug, "Thank you sir."
Ralph gently patted the boy's back, touched by his contrition. "Now one thing I can't forgive though is all this sir stuff; makes me sound old. Just call me Ralph."
"Yes sir, Ralph," Jake did his best to stifle a giggle when he realized his mistake.
Alex on the other hand lost it completely, laughing harder when his grandfather just shook his head and sighed. Ralph just muttered, "Great, now I have two smart asses to deal with."
"I love you Grandpa," Alex dramatically fluttered his eyelashes.
"Alright that's enough. Get to the lab before you're late to work," Ralph commanded.
The boys quickly exchanged a look. Alex replied, "I was kind of hoping to hang around here for a bit."
Ralph was already prepared for this discussion, "You know Jake will be perfectly safe with me, and I'd like a chance to talk to him and see how we can best help him and introduce him to the community. I also need to test his powers to be able to teach him his limits so he doesn't get hurt. You know most of our kind are very private about how strong their abilities are; you owe it to Jake to let him test in private and decide if and when to tell you. And on top of all that they really do need you in the lab today to try and fix an instrument that went down over the weekend."
Alex grudgingly turned to his friend, "Grandpa is right. You deserve your privacy and I should get to the lab and do some work; I'm just a few floors away though, if you need me give me a call and I'll get here as soon as I can."
Ralph interjected before Jake could respond, "Come by later and you two can go out and eat a big lunch. I'm sure Jake will be ready for a break by then and I know he will need to eat after testing his powers all morning."
With plans set for lunch Alex reluctantly headed for work. Ralph led the way to the kitchen where they both took a seat for another cup of coffee. After a few minutes of small talk Jake was loosening up and sharing more details about himself, and also asking about Ralph and the observatory.
After they had talked a while Ralph took the young man's hands into his own, "I'm going to ask you to let me invade your privacy for a little bit. To do the testing accurately you are going to have to drop the barrier Alex taught you. Before we get to that though, I'd like to ask you to drop it for just me, and in exchange I'll drop my shield for you. My strongest power is my ability to sense emotions from others; even emotions you aren't aware of. I have the rare ability to walk through memories while we are in physical contact, and I'd like to see if there is anything in your past that might help me trace your roots. It will be far quicker than playing twenty questions. "
The older man paused to let his words sink in. "You will be aware of flashes of memory as I travel through your mind, and unfortunately strong emotions may be triggered by some of them. You can stop the process at any time by letting go of my hands and breaking the contact. Ultimately the choice is yours. I will think no different of you if you say no and we just talk instead."
Jake studied the man sitting in front of him, but couldn't detect even the faintest hint of judgement or malice. "Alex trusts you, so I guess I do too. What do I have to do?"
"Hopefully my grandson was smart enough to teach you that using your powers is really just a matter of focusing your willpower at what you are trying to accomplish. You willed the shield into place, so now just will it to have an opening that only lets me in," Ralph explained. "Well done. Ok, take a deep breath and let me know you are ready by projecting the emotion towards me. Remember break contact at any time you need to."
Jake took several deep breaths before trying to convey he was ready. Almost instantly his mind was flooded with images of the past day; it started with his thoughts in bed last night, and rewound through his coffee shop encounters with Alex; to waking up in the hospital and the moments before he lost consciousness. The images rapidly picked up speed as Ralph raced through his whole life. Feelings of rejection and loneliness grew into utter despair as his father's face repeatedly flashed by. Jake had squeezed his eyes tight to try and hold back the tears as one nanny after another left his life. The tears fell anyway as Ralph reached his earliest memories.
Jake's mind was suddenly quiet as he felt Ralph's arms around him, gently stroking his back and surrounding him with warmth like Alex had done. Several minutes passed before the old man spoke, "I'm so sorry you had to go through so much pain growing up, and relive it again today. Regardless of what happens after today I promise you I will always be here for you until the day I die. You can come to me whenever you need a friend to talk to."
Taking comfort in the words Jake replied, "I guess I never realized how bad things were till I saw it all at once. My father never loved me. I think he must have fired my nannies whenever I was getting close to them. I have no idea why he let Anna stay so long. Please don't tell Alex, I don't want him to pity me."
Ralph put his hand over his heart, "I promise. And I will never let him know your feelings about him either." Jake blushed so hard his face almost turned purple, making the old man chuckle, "Sorry I didn't mean to embarrass you. I won't tell you any of his secrets either, but you should know he will accept your sexuality entirely when you do decide to tell him."
The younger man sighed, "I know I have to tell him eventually, but now you know I don't really have any friends. I was hoping that after he got to know me it wouldn't matter. I was so worried when he explained the empathic powers to me that he'd be able to sense it."
"He didn't mention anything to me. In any case, your shield was quite firm when you got here this morning. When you feel comfortable enough with someone, you will let them through just like you did with me. You can also just filter the connection to where they only feel vague impressions that you are happy or sad, that sort of thing."
Ralph smiled, "I'm impressed. You filtered me without any coaching. No wonder you did so well in school, you are a bright young man indeed." Sensing a change in his grandson Ralph continued, "Was that you? Alex has been agitated all morning but he just calmed down."
"I think he must have just let me past his barrier too. It's like I'm suddenly feeling one of his hugs."
"Hmm," Ralph thought carefully before replying. "You two must have a stronger bond than either of you are aware of. Like all of our powers, the ability to sense another decreases with distance. Strangers or mere acquaintances wouldn't even sense you from the living room. However, the stronger your bond the further your powers reach. For example, yesterday with Alex downtown I could feel his excitement from here."
Thinking it best to change the subject, Ralph suggested they head for the testing chamber to measure his powers. He explained along the way, "The testing room is built underground, with thick walls. It should keep out interference from the environment or any other mages. There are representations of all the elements manipulators can control, each one with a measuring device. Since our powers don't overlap I can stay with you to guide you through the process. I'll have to leave for empathy of course, so we'll do that one last after you are comfortable with the process."
Jake and Ralph descended a narrow spiral staircase before stepping into a large cavernous room, illuminated primarily by a single orb of light hovering at the apex of the room. They crossed the room to an alcove ringed with blue crystals that appeared to be dripping from the ceiling, like icicles frozen in time. A large copper tub stood in the middle of the alcove, filled to the brim with water. A hollow tube marked at regular intervals similar to a graduated cylinder was fastened to the side of the basin, and appeared to run from near the floor into the ceiling.
"First we will test your power to control water. You simply place your hands in the basin, clear your mind, and focus all of the willpower you can muster to force water up the tube. As you can see the tube is currently entirely empty due to air inside forcing it out. The higher you can drive the water, the stronger your power. You're welcome to do a dry run, so to speak, to get the hang of it."
Jake tentatively slipped his fingertips into the water, and the tube immediately began to fill with water. Finding the water to be warm against his skin, he plunged in both hands. The water level was now at waist height. He breathed deeply before closing his eyes to focus, willing the column to rise higher. A few heartbeats later he felt as if the water had suddenly turned to lead, and he strained to focus even harder. He made one final mental push before speaking out, "It's so heavy, I can't move it any higher."
Jake felt the hand on his shoulder before the older man spoke, "Open your eyes and see what you've done."
Jake looked down at the tube expecting the waterline to still be at his waist, but instead saw the water extending well above his head into the shadows above. With a gasp of astonishment his concentration was broken and the water quickly drained back to the basin.
Turning around he saw Ralph's face registered awe as well. "I've never seen another manipulator score so high. Typically the water will rise to between chest height and eye level, rarely over six feet; you measured closer to eight. I think if you tried, you could control every raindrop falling around you for several blocks. Let's measure your electrical abilities next."
The next alcove they came to was covered in large opaque crystals, gently pulsing with energy within. The old man appeared to be engaged in a mental debate for a moment before he spoke, "Based on the last test I'm not sure the traditional methods will work here; electricity is still a modern phenomenon in the grand scheme of things, and wasn't really harnessed until the late 1800's. Alex has invented a more modern test with resistors and dials capable of measuring stronger powers. Here, grasp this wire in one hand and place the other against the crystals. They will provide you with a source of energy to focus into the wire.
Jake did as instructed, keeping watch of the large dial attached to the contraption in front of him. Of course Alex had designed the dial not with numbers, but with clouds shooting an increasing number of little lightning bolts. When Jake focused, the dial was dancing near the high end of the dial, somewhere between a cloud with nine bolts and a bomb icon. The walls of the alcove had grown dim, the pulses of energy reduced to faint flicker. Jake felt as if he might pass out when he dropped the wire and pulled his hand off the wall.
Ralph was prepared and quickly steadied the young man before guiding them both to a bench near the door. Jake wasn't entirely sure what to say, "I'm glad Alex wasn't here, I feel like a freak now. The water test didn't affect me, but after that I want to just curl up and take a nap."
"You've channeled an incredible amount of energy this morning, possibly the strongest storm manipulator in several generations," Ralph was gently rubbing the boy's back. "I have a few ideas, but I need to do some research before I say too much. I must ask you not to try to harness that much power again until we know more. I was foolish to push you into this test after you were hospitalized in the surge a few weeks ago."
"I need you to answer a question truthfully," Jake waited for a nod of agreement before continuing. "Even before Alex told me about my powers yesterday I've been wondering if what happened to the office was because of the storm, or because of me. You saw the images of destruction in my head. I need to know if it was my fault."
Ralph's heart was breaking at the sight of the young man in anguish. "I've been asking myself the same question and I don't know." He placed a gentle kiss on Jake's forehead before pulling him close. "I know this will be hard for you to accept but you must move on. It doesn't matter what happened, just that it did. Focus on the future and what it will hold, and learn to control your power."
It wasn't the answer he was looking for, but Jake understood it was the best he would ever get. With a sigh Jake stood and helped up his new mentor. Ralph declared that the empathy testing was best left for another day, so the men headed back to the apartment.
Halfway up the stairs Jake became aware of Alex gently probing the world looking for him. Ralph could sense it too; or rather he could sense the anxious nervousness of his grandson, quickly changing to relief when Jake answered.
Alex arrived a few minutes past the appointed time for lunch. "Sorry I'm late. I was testing my repairs and wanted to finish before lunch."
"If you don't have anything pressing to work on this afternoon, perhaps it would be best if you took him home this afternoon," Ralph said. "Jake isn't used to channeling so power like he did this morning, and I suspect he will need a nap, and probably more question." Turning to Jake he continued, "I'll do some research this afternoon, and you can come back tomorrow and I'll work with you some more."
"I'm kind of feeling tired already. I wasn't sure if it was the testing or just because I couldn't sleep last night." Jake excused himself to the restroom before they headed out.
Ralph took the opportunity to speak to his grandson, "He's been through a lot these past few days, and he's going to need some time to process it all. Don't push him to talk about the tests; let him tell you when he is ready."
The boys each accepted a hug from the old man before they headed for a burger place near the observatory. "I recommend the double bacon cheeseburger and steak fries. The fried egg on top is good too if you like that."
Jake smiled, "That sounds delicious. I love a runny yolk on the burger, but I always seem to get some on my shirt. But I guess I won't be seeing anyone else today anyway."
Conversation was fairly light during lunch, neither wanting to talk about certain things in public. Jake finally broke the awkward silence that had descended in the car a few blocks from his loft. "I'm kind of tired, but do you want to come in a chat for a bit?"
"Sure," Alex answered quickly, not caring what they talked about as long as he got to spend more time with his friend.
Jake directed him to an alleyway to park. "That's my car, but both of these spots came with the loft. I never have visitors so you can park here whenever you want. The passcode to get into the back staircase is 555#. I figure if someone really wants to break in the keypad won't stop them anyway."
The guys chatted for a while before Jake got around to the question he really wanted answered. "I used your invention to test my electrical powers, but what do the icons on the dial mean?"
"Yeah that seems to be my biggest design flaw," Alex sighed. "None of the tests really have absolute scales so I tried to make the dial like that, even though electrical charge can actually be measured. Most mages score between one and three lightning bolts. They have complained the dial isn't sensitive enough to tell them anything from one test to the next, or they insist that it doesn't work. I think they just got inflated egos because they could max out the old test."
"Oh... what was the thing at the end that looked like a bomb?"
Alex chuckled, "Supposedly a strong thunderstorm releases as much energy as a small nuclear bomb. I figured that would be a good top end of the scale."
Jake realized his friend was dying of curiosity, "I scored a bit above average." It wasn't a lie really, `a bit' could mean a lot of things. Good thing he was still filtering emotions towards Alex. "Thanks for picking me up this morning."
"I was happy to do it. Besides, you're on my way. You want me to pick you up same time tomorrow?" Alex asked.
Jake beamed, "If I'm really on the way that would be great. I'll even bring you coffee again."
"Deal," Alex replied. "I can tell you're getting tired so I'll head home. Call me or text me though if you want."
Jake had taken off his pants and was working on unbuttoning his shirt when he lost contact with Alex, a sensation like a shiver up his spine. Jake thought back to the apartment, when Ralph commented that the friends must have a stronger connection than either realized. After all, Jake hadn't felt any different leaving the old man at lunch.
************************************************************* Author's note: I figured I'd stop the chapter here or it would end up twice as long. I've seeded the stage for future scenes and story developments; I suspect chapter 5 will have more action (you can interpret that however you want) :-)