The Geneva Project - Truth (6 page)

“
I’m going to let go now, Tippy.  Keep concentrating,” Nova said.

He slowly pulled his hands away from mine and took a step back into the shadows.  I felt the flame start to dull, but I was determined not to lose it, so I dug deep into my memories of all the horrible things Jemma had done to me over the years.  That seemed to work because as my cheeks flushed with anger from those memories, the flame strengthened.  It was like a fire had been ignited inside of me.  I felt hot and powerful, like my whole body was glowing.

I smiled and whispered to Nova without taking my eyes off the flame, “I’m doing it!”

I must have broken my concentration as I whispered to Nova because just then it began to dull and then I heard it.  That voice in my head again. 

“
Jemma! Jemma! Jemma!
”

It made me jump and I lost the flame completely.  I was swallowed in the heavy cloak of blackness that dwelled in the forest.  I was frozen in my place and wanted to call out to Nova but I had lost sight of him before the flame went out and I was scared of the voice I had just heard in my head.  What if it was coming for me and Nova?!

Light!

“
Oh, thank god!” I gasped and ran towards Nova, wrapping my arms around him.  I was out of breath and shaking. 

“
Tippy, it’s okay, you did great!  What’s wrong?” Nova asked as I clung to him.

“
That voice!  Did you hear it too?  It was shouting in my head, and it’s not the first time I’ve heard it.  I think it’s what led me out here tonight.  I think we might be in danger, Nova.”

“
Tippy, don’t be mad okay, you have nothing to be afraid of.”

“
What do you mean?  Why would I be mad?”

“
It was me that you were hearing in your head.  Just now I was trying to help you concentrate on Jemma, and earlier it’s how I told you it was time to meet me.  It’s another power I have.”

“
What!?  You not only can read minds, you can control thoughts?  What are you!?  What do you really want with me?!”

I was shouting now and backing away from him.  I felt overwhelmed and angry.  I knew I was different, I’d always been the outcast, the one with no friends or family.  Why did he have to point that out?  Why did he have to take advantage of me, too!?

“
Tippy, stop it.  You have me, you’re not alone now.” he said, coming closer to me. “And you’re not an outcast, you’re special, look what you can do.”

His words shook me and instantly brought tears to my eyes.  Nova softly draped his arm over my shoulder and I began to cry.

He knew so much about me!  It wasn’t fair.  I barely knew anything about him. Everything about him was mysterious.  The fact that he knew his name, the secret hiding spot he had in the courtyard, the mysterious punch he saw me give to Jemma, the way he unlocked the window in my room, the magic flame, the mindreading, the way I hear his voice in my head…

Suddenly I stiffened.  Nova was so open about his other powers, but he didn’t say anything about being able to talk to me in my mind, only that he could read minds.  What if he can implant thoughts?  Was any of this real or was he just manipulating me?  Was this all a trick to get me out here?  I was suddenly frightened of him.  I was alone in the forest with a boy I barely knew and he had strange powers.  How had I been so stupid?  Well if he did have other plans for me I wasn’t going to make it easy on him.  I ducked from under his arm and took off running aimlessly into the forest.

“
Tippy!” he shouted after me.  “Stop, it’s not like that, I swear. You have to trust me.” 

Even though I’m an excellent runner, I didn’t make it very far before Nova caught up to me.  I couldn’t see where I was going and kept stumbling and I eventually slammed my shin into something solid and fell down completely.  Nova had no problem finding me with his handy little fire light.  I felt so cornered and vulnerable as he approached.  I was breathing heavy when he stopped at my feet.  He stood looking down at me for a moment and then just decided to sit on the large stump next to me.  It must have been the source of the throbbing pain in my shin.  I scrambled to a standing position and stared at him.  Why was he just sitting there? 

“
What are you?!” I shouted at him.  “Why did you bring me here?” 

He just sat there staring at his feet.  This infuriated me.  My fear was suddenly gone, replaced by anger, fueled by my need for survival. 

“
I don’t know what your problem is, but I’m not a freak like you and I don’t want you in my head anymore!  Got it?  Just leave me alone!”

“
Tippy, I’m sorry.  I understand how you’re feeling, but I’m only trying to help you.  I promise,” he pleaded.

“
You may be able to hear my thoughts but you don’t know how I feel!  I feel betrayed.  I trusted you!  And this whole time you were just messing around in my head?  I don’t even know what to believe anymore.”

“
Tippy, I promise I never messed with your head.  I only talk to you.  I don’t make you do things”

“
Yeah right! Like I’m supposed to believe the mind bender?”

I turned away from him and started to stomp off again, but he reached for me.  As soon as I felt him touch my skin, I whirled around like a wild animal and lunged for him.

“
Don’t touch me!” I screamed as I swung out with both fists. 

I hit him square in the chest with my left hand, but as I swung again with my right, he blocked me with his flame-wielding hand.  Before I knew it, I was on fire!  There was a burst of flames as soon as our hands connected, then the fire raced down my right arm and across my back. I could feel the heat and I closed my eyes in panic and screamed.  As the sound escaped my mouth, something incredible happened. The flames transformed into a glowing light beam that shot straight up from my body into the night sky.  The whole forest awoke with the burst of light radiating from me!  Suddenly, I wasn’t afraid anymore.  I felt strong and powerful and light and fearless!  I stretched my right arm out in front of me and brought my left to join it.  The light spread down my arms to both hands and I separated them shoulder width apart.  The light continued in a beaming arc that was connected to both my hands.  I laughed at the strangeness of the whole experience and the light grew brighter still.  It sprang to life, leaving my hands and encircling me.  I threw my head back in hysterical laughter.  How was this happening to me?  Had Nova been right all along?  Was I special, was I like him?  I shifted my focus to him, looking right and left to try to find him.  All I saw around me was my halo of white light, breathing a glowing life into the dark forest around me.  Suddenly I realized I was no longer on the ground.  I was hovering! 

“
Oh, my god!” I gasped. 

“
You’re okay, Tippy. Stay calm,” came Nova’s steady voice.

Following the sound of his voice, I looked down to see him about ten feet below me. 

“
What do I do?” I shouted.

“
Just stay calm and concentrate on coming towards me.”

I locked eyes with him and heard him whispering in my mind.

“
It’s okay, you’re okay, I’m right here.”

I focused on his face and his calm, steady voice in my head.  I could see his face coming closer, it was getting clearer. I honed in on each of his exquisite features.  His golden-blond hair seemed to glow in the light I was casting; his deep-green eyes sparkled as the light picked up the flecks of gold in them; his sharply chiseled jaw and angular cheek bones were highlighted as the light danced across the bronzed skin of his face; and his full lips turned down and pressed together in concentration and genuine worry for me.  That’s when I first realized that Nova truly cared about me and that I should trust him. 

He drew closer and closer to me and before I knew it, his arms were encircling me, holding me safely against his chest as it heaved up and down heavily.  For the first time I realized that Nova must have been scared, too.  Even though his voice was strong and calm, he must have been just as frightened as I was.  I looked up at him and the relief on his face was radiating in his smile.  I hadn’t realized my feet were on the ground until that moment.  I still felt like I was floating while in Nova’s embrace.  We both just stared at each other for a moment and then we laughed until we collapsed. 

“
Well, this was quite a night!” said Nova between fits of laughter.

“
I’ll say!” I gasped.

“
I told you, you could do it,” he boasted.

“
Okay, okay, you were right.  But I think I’m done for tonight.” 

“
I agree.  You scared me for a little bit there.”

“
Me?! 
You
scared me! I thought you were turning my brain to mush or something!”

“
I know, I’m sorry about all that.  I’ve never shared these secrets with anyone and I guess I didn’t think about how you might react.  I’m sorry, Tippy,” he said sounding downtrodden again.

I scooted closer to him and grabbed his left hand, gently scooping out the little flame he was controlling. 

“
All is forgiven,” I said, resting my head on his shoulder.  “And I’m sorry I called you a freak.  I guess we’re both freaks, huh?”

Nova smiled and shrugged, “I like the sound of that.”

We sat like this for a while, trading the light back and forth with each other. In Nova’s hand it was a flickering flame, in my hand it transformed into a white, gaseous orb.  The beauty of it mesmerized us.  Each seemed a fitting representation of us.  Nova’s flame was bright, bold and fiery, and my orb was ever-changing and seemed a bit unstable.  For the first time tonight I started to feel more like myself than ever before.  I couldn’t explain the feeling of ease and contentment I felt playing with this magical source of light on the damp forest floor with Nova.  It was like the feeling of finally coming home, even though I had no recollection of my actual home.  This feeling gave me strength, courage and peace that I was doing the right thing.  And it gave me trust in Nova, like I had never had for another person before.  I felt like our souls were meshed together like the flickering flames before us and that he would always be a part of me. Nova gave me a reassuring sigh of contentment.  I guess he was feeling the same way, or perhaps reading my thoughts.  I turned to look at him and said,

“
Can you tell me everything about you?  I don’t want any more surprises and I won’t overreact, no matter what you tell me.  I promise.  I just want to know you.”

He smiled at me and reached out his empty hand, pulling us to our feet. 

“
Nothing would make me happier, Tippy,” he murmured.  “There’s a lot to tell, but we better be heading back, I think your light show woke up the whole forest.  We’re going to have to go deeper next time.  You’re a lot more powerful than I even imagined.”

I beamed at his praise of my powers, and followed Nova, brushing the mossy forest floor off my legs as I walked.  I let Nova light the way, and held his hand to keep on the trail.  As we walked, Nova started to tell me about his life.  How he had grown up in a small village on the edge of the rain forest called Leone.  As farmers, his family worked alongside the Beto people to learn the best ways to farm the land.  They had a great relationship with the tribe, and Nova remembered playing in the fields with his little sister, Ivy, and their friends from the forest while their fathers worked. When the Flood came, his father brought him, his sister, and their mother into the forest to find higher ground, but they never made it.  When they entered the forest it had already begun burning from the lava.  Nova’s father told him to climb a nearby tree and not to stop until he reached the top.  That was the last he saw of his family.  He thought they were climbing the tree as well, but when the storm was finally over and he could cling to the tree no longer, he slid to the ground to find he was completely alone.  At first he thought they may have climbed other trees nearby, so he searched and he searched and soon realized that the trees held nothing for him.  He wandered aimlessly around the forest until he was eventually found by the Grifts and brought to the Troian Center. 

“
And you know the rest,” he said.

I pondered this for a moment.  I still had so many questions.

“
When did you find out you had powers?” I asked.

“
I think it first started right after the Flood.  After I couldn’t find my parents I was so alone and had no one to talk to in the forest, so I just did a lot of thinking in my head and I remember I kept thinking,
Please find me, I’m right here, I’m right here.
And that’s when the Grifts found me.  They said I was calling them, but I knew I had never uttered a word.  Then, back at the Center, I figured out that I could hear what people were thinking.  Like if one of the orphans were scared I’d be able to tell and comfort them; and if one of the teachers were in a particularly foul mood, I’d know why, and how to cheer them up or if I should just steer clear of them all together.  It’s like a sixth sense I guess.  We can all read people’s feelings, I’m just really in tune with them and I think that helps me hear their thoughts.”