Dreams

It was a dream. Luna had been levitating me too much during my waking life that it crossed into my sleep. We had both been practicing using our powers all day, everyday, for weeks and Luna had gotten good enough to lift me off the ground while doing other things. She rarely stopped levitating me and I had gotten used to not having ground beneath my feet.

Her mom got annoyed with having me floating around everywhere, so Luna levitated Franklin instead. He immediately asked her mom to let Luna go back to levitating me and she only gave in when Luna started making her hair fly in random directions.

Back to my dream though. I was floating. I could feel cool air around me. I went higher and higher into the air. Then something hit my head with a thud and I fell to the ground, waking up the moment I hit the mattress. Luna jumped and nonsense began spilling out of her mouth.

It took me a few minutes to adjust back to reality. I looked around the small room Luna and I had been sharing. It seemed strange to me. I had been high above everything just a minute before. And one thought had been very strong in my mind as I drifted through the sky. One emotion. I had felt like that feeling was what lifted me off the ground.

Luna was still blubbering when I had truly awoken. I looked at her carefully. Had I really been floating or was it just a dream? If I really had been, had Luna done it? She would have been giggling if she had done it. She was far from giggling.

"Luna?" I whispered. She shook her head and crawled into the corner and curled up into a ball. I had no idea what to make of her strange behavior. Drowsiness overcame me before I could think much about it. Dreams of flying, not floating, but actually flying, through the sky consumed my mind.


"Luna! Not while she sleeps!" Luna's mom was saying.

"I'm not doing that, Mom!" Luna snapped back, "Go ahead, read my stupid mind! I'm not doing it!" I didn't want to wake up. I had been having a good dream. Luna and I had flown out of the atmosphere and gravity no longer applied. I smiled. Then I fell and hit the mattress, as I had been doing every morning for over a week now.

"Every night?" Luna's mom said quietly to her daughter. Luna nodded and then looked at me concerned. The room was spinning slightly. Luna's mom gaze pierced me and I got a headache. I knew she had to be reading my mind. My brain turned on suddenly.

"Hey! My head! Stay out!" I blurted and scrambled backward, my face turning bright red. Luna's mom smirked.

"I'm not going to say anything. It's not like it's news to me or anything," she laughed. Luna looked puzzled; I looked more than just annoyed. The mattress became extremely cold and Luna's started shivering.

"Emma!" Luna said. I could see her breath. I exhaled and saw my own. Luna's mom laughed again, giving me a look that made me turn even redder, if that were possible. I forced myself to calm down and the room grew warmer.

"You do realize you're completely mental, right, Emma?" Luna's mom laughed. I would have sworn my face was literally on fire. "C'mon, Franklin's burning pancakes again." She walked out, still smirking. Luna looked at me, clearly wondering what her mom had found in my mind, then turned and followed her mom out. I didn't get up at first. Stupid telepath. Of course, she had been reading my mind for years without me even knowing. And, the thought suddenly occurred to me, she had been reading Luna's mind for years too. An idea hit me and I jumped up and followed the smell of burnt pancakes to the kitchen.

"Good morning!" I said happily as I walked in.

"Jeeze, Em. You were sulking a minute ago and now you're a little ray of sunshine. What are you, bipolar?" Luna laughed. I rolled my eyes at her and took the plate Franklin was handing me. Luna's mom was still smirking and whispered something to Franklin. He looked between Luna and I and then smirked too.

"And you're not?" I laughed. My pancakes suddenly flew off my plate and landed on Luna's. I rolled my eyes.

"What? I'm hungry."

"You want cold pancakes?"

"Don't be stupid. Your pancakes are always the warmest. You're always warm." A weird feeling appeared in my stomach and spread through my body momentarily. I couldn't help but smile and I felt my feet leave the ground.

"Hey! Put me down!" I laughed, the weird feeling not leaving.

"I'm not doing that," Luna said quietly. I fell back down suddenly and stumbled as I hit the ground. The feeling disappeared as quickly as it came. Luna looked scared.

"Uh, Franklin, why don't you go take Luna to help her work some more?" Luna's mom said quickly. Her smirk was gone. Franklin grabbed Luna's arm and took her out of the kitchen. "Emma," she said slowly. She reached out her hand and placed it on my head and instead of the headache I expected, I just felt numbness. I felt drowsy and my legs gave way suddenly. She caught me and then I began to dream.


It was a cold, misty night. Luna and I were standing in a forest clearing, laughing. Luna used her powers to lift me up into the air. Moonlight shone on her soft blonde hair and she smiled.

"I wish I could be up there with you," Luna said in a voice that sounded more like music than speech. I reached out my hand toward her.

"You can." I grabbed her tiny hand carefully and lifted her into the air. She wrapped her arms around my neck and we floated higher and higher into the air until the forest became just a tiny speck below us.

"Emma," another voice said softly. My eyes fluttered open. I was back in the kitchen. I floated in the air for a moment but then gravity discovered me and pulled me straight down to the earth. Luckily, Luna's mom caught me and set me down on solid ground carefully.

"Was I--?" I said quickly.

"Defying gravity?" she finished. "Yes."

"But . . . I mean, how?"

"Don't ask me things I don't know the answer to, Emma."

"You made me do it though. You knew. You know how I've done everything I've done."

"No, Emma, I don't. You freeze things when you get scared. You heal things when you're concerned and feeling sympathetic. You float when you dream. All I did was help you dream. I don't know what really does it though."

"You saw what I dreamt last night, didn't you?" I felt my cheeks flush slightly.

"Only what you could still remember. Look, I'm not going to get involved in whatever you may dream about. Relax. You may want to learn how to lock me out though because you make it very clear who you care about and if anyone else got a hold of that information, things could get dangerous for all of us."

"I'm a danger to all of you, aren't I?" I knew I was, but I also knew she wouldn't admit to it lest I get up and leave like I had considered doing. I didn't want to put their lives in danger any more than I already was just by knowing them. Luna's mom treated me as if I was her own daughter and I knew she wouldn't let me run off on my own. She had only sent me to Franklin because she knew she would be coming after me shortly.

"We're each a danger to each other, but we're all in more danger alone. Emma, you've saved my daughter's life twice, and Franklin's and mine once now. You can't just run away because you're scared you might hurt someone. Without you, all three of us would be dead by now. Luna needs you to stay here." I sighed and looked at my hands carefully. I closed my eyes and tried to remember my dream. Gravity slowly lost its hold and the ground and my feet parted.

Fire and Flames

Luna was chained to the wall, unconscious. She looked nearly dead. Her mom ran over to her quickly and tried to break the chains. No use. They wouldn't break.

"Emma," Luna's mom said, "freeze the chains, we might be able to break them if you do." I nodded and got up and tried to freeze the chains.

"I shouldn't have left . . ." I whispered. The chains grew colder, but not enough to break them. I swore under my breath. Luna's mom pulled me back suddenly.

"She's faking it!" she gasped. Next thing I knew, I was flung backwards and crashed into the wall. I jumped back up quickly, leaving the water tank on the floor, and saw Luna's mom lying on the ground, not moving. I ran over to her side. She wasn't dead, only knocked out.

"Come to pretend to be a hero again, Emma?" Luna's voice snarled in my ear. I spun around. She had gotten out of her chains and was staring menacingly at me. "Just like when you attacked me in the alley and made it look like someone else did it?"

"What?!?" I blurted out.

"Oh, don't play dumb, Emma. I know it was you. Trying to look like a hero, but you're not. Ever since second grade, you've always been trying to act like your a better person than everyone else, but you're not!" I felt an invisible force suddenly force me backward and I tripped. "Oh, poor Emma fell? Guess what? I don't care! I HATE YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!" Then she leapt at me. A thick sheet of ice formed in between us at the last possible moment, and there was a loud thud as she smashed into it. It cracked and I scrambled to my feet.

"Luna--" I said, but she cut me off.

"What? You have to use ice to protect you? Ha! Won't work." Then she put out her hand towards the ice and sent it flying straight at me. I put up my arms to shield myself, and flames shot out of my hands, melting the ice and burning Luna's shoulder.

"Sorry! You okay?" Luna looked at me as darkly as possible then looked around the room quickly. Her eyes found a knife on the floor and it shot straight toward my head. I ducked and it pierced the wall. "Have you lost your /mind/?!?" If she didn't want to be saved, then fine; I wouldn't save her.

"No, but you're about to have no need for one. Once I KILL YOU!" She lunged at me again and I pulled her to the ground with me.

"Luna!" I yelled back, struggling with her and finally pinning her beneath me. "Why the hell are you trying to /kill/ me?!? I'm your best friend!"

"No, you're not!" she screamed and I suddenly realised she was crying. She started slapping my shoulders hysterically and more guilt than I had ever known welled up within me and a sick feeling started eating at my insides. "You're not! You're not! You're not!"

"Luna--"

"SHUT UP! I HATE YOU!"

"I'm sorry!" I yelled right back.

"No, you're not! You're just a stupid liar!"

"I was trying to protect you!"

"Ha! Yeah, right. From what?"

"From me! And from someone taking you to get to me." I paused, she seemed to calm down a bit. An idea hit me. A song. One we both knew. One that meant a lot to both of us. "'Let me feel you, carry you--'" I whispered.

"'--Higher. Watch our words spread hope like--'" she said quietly, no longer hitting me or struggling to get away. Tears were sliently falling down her face.

"--Fire.'" Flames lit up in my hands for a brief moment. "I shouldn't have left like that, Luna. I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?" She nodded and I stood up. I put out my hand and she took it and stood up.

"As long as you can forgive me for trying to kill you." I laughed and nodded. I walked over to her mom and knelt beside her. I placed my hand on her head and focused on healing her. My hand started to tingle and then she sat up suddenly. She looked between Luna and I quickly.

"It's okay now," I said.

"Sorry, Mom," Luna muttered.

"Don't worry about it, Luna," her mom said. "Let's get Franklin and get out of here." I nodded and she stood up. I put my hand on Luna's burnt shoulder, healing it as the three of us walked out.

Franklin was limping into the warehouse as we walked out. "Oh, you already got Luna?" he said.

"Emma got her," Luna's mom said. "Let's get out of here before your brother and his friend defrost." And with that, the four of us left and headed back to Franklin's home.

Frozen.

We were in front of an old warehouse. How cliché. "Remember the plan," Franklin whispered, slowly pushing open the door. I grabbed the hose attached to my tank of water and followed. A moment later, there was a bright flash of light and Luna's mom yanked my arm, barely getting me out of the way of the electricity.

"Aw, how cute. My little brother thinks he can come rescue the little telekinetic girl from his evil big brother. Isn't that right, Frankie?" A glow of light lit up a scarred face that may have once looked like Franklin's. A snarl twisted itself upon the face and a growl escaped its lips. Then he looked straight at me. "Oh, you brought me a present, did you, Frankie?" He stepped forward and Franklin shot a warning blast of electricity at him.

"Don't you dare touch her," Franklin growled.

"Give me my daughter back, Freddie," Luna's mom said menacingly. Her eyes seemed to be on fire. Freddie cackled sickly.

"How lovely to see you again, Zaney. How's the family doing?"

"About as good as this will feel." Luna's mom closed her eyes and the twisted smile on Freddie's face disappeared suddenly. He groaned and grabbed his head in pain. Franklin sprayed him with water suddenly and, thinking quickly, I focused on the times I had frozen my surroundings, my palms facing Freddie. He froze quickly along with the stream of water. I couldn't help but feel proud. A smile forced its way onto my face for a split second, but it vanished a moment later as I was flung suddenly backwards.

"Emma!" Franklin yelled. A man grabbed my hair and leapt into the air and out of the house, rising up into the air fast. The man suddenly screamed and let go of me, at least 15 feet off the ground.

"Catch her, Franklin!" Luna's mom screamed. He did, luckily, but fell over in doing so and didn't get up right away. "Emma! Go find Luna! I'll hold him off!" The man who could fly was thrashing around in the air, screaming, punching the air, clutching his head, falling suddenly, taking back off, etc.

I ran back into the warehouse, then changed my mind a moment later. I grabbed the hose attached to my water tank and aimed at the man who could fly. I shot a stream of water out of it and put out my other hand and concentrated hard. At first, nothing happened. Only water shot out. Then it started to freeze and ice missiles shot through the air and nailed the man who could fly. He dropped to the ground and didn't move. Luna's mom looked at me in shock.

"C'mon! Let's get Luna!" I said, and grabbed her arm and pulled her in the warehouse.

"Wait, I'll find her," she said, closing her eyes. She reopened them a moment later and ran down the hall and turned right. I followed her and wished I hadn't a moment later. My throat went completely dry and the room started to freeze. I sank to my knees, shaking. My heart froze.

"Luna . . ." I whispered.

Abducted.

Franklin was already making breakfast when I got up. "You like pancakes, right?" he asked as I walked into the kitchen. I nodded. "I'm going to go to the store tonight after I go to the library to get you some books. Make me a list of what you want, okay? I'm a terrible cook though."

"I can cook," I said. He put the pancakes on two plates and handed one to me. "You teach me and I'll cook." He smiled.

"Just tell me what you need me to buy." I nodded and there was a loud, hurried knock on the door. Franklin set his plate down and hurried to the door. I watched from the kitchen. Luna's mom toppled in the house and quickly shut the door behind her. I knew something had to be terribly wrong. I had never seen her look so scared. Her clothes were filthy, she was clutching her side and she seemed to be partially burnt.

"Help me, Franklin," she gasped. I hurried over to the doorway.

"What happened?" I asked. She suddenly calmed down and smiled.

"Hi, Emma. How are you?"

"What's wrong?" I ignored her question completely.

"Nothing. Everything's fine. Don't you worry." She smiled again and I felt my head seem to slow and relax. Franklin looked between us, almost angry. Luna's mom turned towards him, her smile disappearing instantly. "Franklin, you know why."

"Stay out of my head," he growled at her.

"I already got one child taken from me! I'm not about to let her risk her life too!" I understood suddenly.

"What happened to Luna?!?" I blurted out.

"Nothing happened to her," Luna's mom smiled fakely. "Just relax. If I wanted to be cold, I'd move to Antarctica." I looked at the ground which had frozen all around me.

"Oops."

"You see that?" Franklin said to Luna's mom, resuming their conversation. "She's not weak."

"She doesn't have control!" Luna's mom said hysterically.

"You're not her mother!" She stopped suddenly and seemed to give up.

"What happened to Luna?" I asked softly. Luna's mom looked at me for a few minutes before responding.

"She wasn't exactly happy you left." She paused. "It looks like a tornado came through our house and half the town."

"What? A tornado?"

"Luna's telekinetic. She destroyed everything in her path, including one of my ribs. Actually, if you could fix that, Emma, that'd be helpful."

"Er . . . " I put my hand on the side she had been clutching when she came in and tried to focus on fixing it. Nothing seemed to happen. I shut my eyes and forced myself to relive the night Luna and I had been attacked. The tingling feeling I had felt came to my hand weakly at first. Then, suddenly, I could feel the sensation shoot through my entire arm and then spread all throughout me. A minute later, I sank to my knees and the feeling disappeared. Luna's mom swore under her breath and knelt beside me. "Better?" I asked weakly.

"Yes, but you went too far. You have a limit, Emma. Stop trying to go past it."

"So what happened to Luna? You just said she kind of lost it." I looked up at her, my strength already returning. I hadn't gone too far, like she thought. I just wasn't expecting the tingling to spread all through me.

"She was seen. Someone took her. I couldn't stop them." My throat went dry. And I knew there was no way I would let Luna's mom stop me from going along with them to help.

"Was Freddie a part of it?" Franklin asked. Luna's mom nodded. "With the flyer?" She nodded again. "Hold on." He ran off to another room then to the kitchen and then returned with three tanks of water with hoses attached to them and three harnasses. He strapped one tank to his back, tossed one to Luna's mom, and spun me around and strapped one to my back. I nearly fell over from the weight, but sucked it up and stood up straight. "Douse them in water, especially Freddie. Emma, don't hesitate to freeze them once they're drenched. Ready to go?" Luna's mom nodded and I did the same.

"Be careful, Emma," Luna's mom said. Then we walked out the door. Franklin took a cell phone out of his pocket and quickly dialed a number.

"Mom? It's Franklin . . . I know, Mom. Where's Freddie? . . . Mom, he kidnapped an innocent girl! . . . I don't care if he's family! Where is he? A child's life is on the line here. What would you do if someone took your child? . . . Thanks, Mom." He closed the phone. "Follow me." He started running down the street and Luna's mom and I followed just behind him. He turned left. We followed. Right. Right. Left. Down an alley. Up a hill. Left. Abrupt stop. We were there. Sickness filled my stomach. I tried to push away my fear, but it was no good. Luna's life was on the line.

Franklin

A large hand grasped my shoulder firmly, shaking me with greater force than necessary. "Wake up, little girl, wake up," a deep voice said. I awoke suddenly and a deep, pained noise escaped my throat. The hand let go. My eyes opened.

"Where am I?" I blurted out, sitting up in fear.

"Passed out on my doorstep, it would see. Who are you?" A man was kneeling next to me, looking nearly as confused as me. He was balding, possibly in his late 40s. I felt as if I recognized him, as if from a picture or something. Suddenly, the previous night's events flooded my memory. I looked at the black numbers on the door. They were the same as the one's Luna's mom had told me.

"My name's Emma. I was sent to you by a friend," I said. It seemed to make something in his mind click. Curiosity replaced the confusion on his face and then a grin spread across his face.

"The Sun to her moon," he whispered. "Get up. We can't have you sitting around on the doorstep and getting passer-by wondering all day. In." He stood up and opened the door. I looked at him carefully. How was I supposed to know if I should actually trust him? After all, he was a complete stranger to me. Luna's mom trusted him though. But she could be wrong about him. I shook the thought from my head; I had no where else to go. I stood up and walked nervously through the doorway. He followed me and closed the door.

Sunlight streamed in the windows, lighting up a small, messy room. There were papers spread out everywhere. Sketches, drawings, strange models covered every surface. "Sorry 'bout the mess," he said casually. "Would you like something to eat? I'm going to make myself eggs. Want some?" I wasn't sure if I should take food from a stranger and hesitated to answer. "Tell you what, I'll make extra anyway and if you get hungry, you can have some." He smiled and walked off into another room which I took to be the kitchen.

I looked closer at some of the papers near me. There were strange symbols I didn't know all over all of them. I saw a pile of photographs on the coffee table and picked them up. Each of them had red ink on them, circling faces, details, things deemed important. There was writing on some, but the handwriting was too hard for me to make out. I wasn't really looking very closely at the pictures though. The man came back into the room with two plates of scrambled eggs as I was glancing at the pictures.

"Breakfast, sunshine!" he said, smiling like it was Christmas. I gave him a confused look, and he merely laughed lightly. He handed me a plate and a fork. "Sit. Eat." He pushed a bunch of papers off the couch to clear a spot for me. He then threw some stuff off of a chair and sat in the chair. I sat down as he had told me to and nervously began eating. I hadn't realised how hungry I was until I had cleaned my plate and saw that he had only eaten about half of his food. "There's fruit on the counter if you're still hungry. Help yourself. Just put your plate in the sink." I blushed slightly and walked into the kitchen. I set my plate in the sink where there was already a large pile of dishes. There were some apples on the counter so I decided to grab one and go back into the entry room.

"Er, I didn't catch your name," I said.

"Franklin," he said. "Why don't you get some rest though? You must be tired." He stood up and motioned for me to follow him. He took me to a small room with just a mattress and some blankets laid out on the floor with a digital clock beside it. In the corner, was the backpack I had brought with me. "Sorry I don't have a better place for you to sleep. This is the best I can do." He smiled weakly."

"It's great," I smiled too. "Thank you." He blushed a bit then walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. I didn't think I'd be able to sleep, but laid down anyway. I fell asleep almost immediately.



It was late in the afternoon when I awoke. I didn't get up immediately. I was thinking about how my life was going to be while I was here. Luna's mom told me not to expect him to be a very good parent and to watch for when the time would come that I had to leave, so I knew better than to think I'd have a perfect life or something. Despite her many warnings about Franklin, Luna's mom had also told me to trust him. He seemed okay. He didn't seem very capable of attacking anyone, just a bit irresponsible, if anything, judging by the mess that covered his home.

"Emma? You awake?" Franklin knocked softly on the door.

"Yeah, just woke up."

"What kind of pizza do you like? I'm about to order some."

"Er, I'm not picky," I muttered truthfully.

"I'll get cheese then." I heard his footsteps walk away then heard the beep of him dialing the phone. I fell back asleep again until there was another knock on my door.

"Emma? The pizza's here." His footsteps took him away, back to the front of the house. I got up and followed his footsteps and the smell of pizza to the entry room.

He had cleared off a small table in the corner with three chairs next to it. The pizza was on the table and he gestured toward one of the chairs. "Sit and eat." I did as instructed and he followed suit. "So, uh, school."

"What?"

"You're a kid. You're supposed to go to school." I gaped at him. I hadn't thought about school at all. "I was told not to let you out of this house until you leave here for good, so I can't send you to school." I couldn't think what to say. He seemed to be thinking out loud, rather than asking me. "You'll have to be homeschooled. Do you think you could teach yourself? I don't know much about school stuff. The only teaching I can do is helping you with your powers." My heart jumped. Luna's mom must've told him. I guess I should have expected she would tell him since it was the reason I had left in the first place, but it just caught me off guard. He noticed too. "Of course I know you have powers. She sent you to me because she thought you needed someone who could understand your powers." He gave me an odd look.

"You . . . ?"

"You're not the only one in the world with powers." He pointed at the TV at the other side of the TV and sparks shot from his hand at the power cord. The screen turned on suddenly. "I've never paid a single electric bill in my life." He smiled. "You shouldn't have to pay for air conditioning when you get older if you can control your power."

"And you're going to teach me how?"

"Yes. We can start tomorrow, if you want. I can go to the library and get you some school books. If you make sure to still learn school stuff, I can teach you about your powers. Agreed?" I nodded. "Put your plate in the sink when you're done. I've got some work to do." He got up, turned the TV off, and walked out of the room. I finished my pizza, left my plate in the sink, then went back to my new room. I was awake for a few hours, just thinking about everything that had happened recently, trying to make sense of it all. I finally went to sleep with excitement for learning more about my powers the next day.