Episode 2 - A New Life

Emma decided to move to a house closer to the city and live with William whiling protecting him. After watching and taking care of William, Emma found out many things. For one, the event had traumatized him and he was afraid of fire. Every time he saw flames, he would faint or feel light-headed. Even if it was as small as fire from a lighter. The same thing would happen if he saw human blood. At first, Emma thought of trying to get him used to flames but it didn't work out. He also had nightmares when he slept. He would cry and call for his mother. It pained Emma to see him like this but she did not know what she could do. But she tried to give him an ordinary life. She enrolled him in school and took care of him. She bought him toys and snacks and tried to get him used to his new life. She thought it would be troubling to take care of such a young boy but William was an obedient child. He did what she asked of him and he did well in school. The only thing she found unsettling was that he was too quiet. Even for a shy child. He never spoke and he didn't have friends in school. It was as though he had completely blocked off everyone.

She also found out that animals liked him. Not just dogs and cats but all types of animals. For some reason, they would gather to him while he was outside. However, because of this, she found a way to lie about his Stelles. She told him that from then on if someone were to ask him what his Stelles was, he should tell them it was to attract animals. Of course, he did what he was told to do but he was like a body without a brain. He could move and he did what he was told but he didn't have any opinions of his own and his emotions did not show on his face. He rarely smiled. And he got injured more than the average child. He would come home with a bump on his head or scrapes on his knees and he would get fever due to the sight of the blood. Even so, he didn't show it on his face. It was if he was dead inside, an empty shell, his eyes beady and hard to read. The only times his emotions were shown were when he was staring at the photo of his family. Tears would come out and he would cry but nothing else.

As he grew older, she taught him to cook and do chores to the point where his food was better than hers and the chores were perfectly done. They had an electric stovetop so he was able to cook without being afraid. Emma did her best to make him feel safe. And slowly, he started to open up to her.

When she saw him trying to smile, she felt happy. Of course, William knew that he was unlike other kids. He understood more and was quick to read the mood. When Willaim finally felt that maybe he was safe, he tried to be happy. He made his first friend when he was 8 and he was the only one that William could trust other than Emma. But he never told his friend that he had no Stelles. He was afraid that he might be abandoned because he had no Stelles. Just like how his parents had tried to protect him from people trying to kidnap him. He didn't know why they were going after him but he was a smart child and knew it was connected to him not having any power. He never forgot what his mother had told him but there were days he wished he could see his parents again. Every night, the images of that night burned itself into his brain and he would wake up crying. And every day he would tell himself that those men wouldn't come anymore. That he was safe.

February 2, 2307

"Emma. Get up, Emma. I'm going to be late if you don't wake up."

    "What do you mean you'll be late? It's only 6."

He pulled off her cover and started to fold it.

    "Ah! It's so cold!"

    "Then get dressed and go eat breakfast. It's already past 7. I'm going to go to school."

    "Oh? Did you make me breakfast? Since when did I raise a kid this well mannered?"

He blushed. That was true. It was unlike him to do something without being asked but he felt like he should. It was embarrassing when Emma pointed it out though. He didn't say anything and instead threw a pillow at Emma's face.

    "Will! What are you doing?"

He turned around.

    "You better finish it all and go to work. I'm leaving."

He walked out of the room and closed the door.

    "Thanks, Will!"

He smiled then walked to the front door and put on his shoes. He opened the door. Noah was standing at the front of the gate waiting.

    "Miss Willows stayed up late again?"

    "Yeah. You can call her Emma you know."

    "No way. She's older than both of us. And she's your mom. Not mine, so I'll stick with Miss Willows."

Will knew that Noah was joking when he called Emma his mom but he bit his lips. It was uncomfortable to call Emma his mother since he lost his own mother. When they were young, William had told Noah that his parents were killed in an accident but didn't go through any details. Noah was a good friend and William trusted him but he wasn't ready to tell Noah about his family.

    "Anyways, did you finish the homework? It's due today."

    "It is? Let me see yours."

    "Why don't you ever do it?"

    "Cause I have the top guy in class as my friend."

He laughed. William didn't think of himself as smart nor did he think of himself as popular. And yet many people praised him. He didn't feel like he deserved their praise. The world was hell-bent on making people think that Stelles were important but because he didn't have one, it only made him tense. It made him think that one day, people would find out his secret and avoid him even though he was trying to avoid them. He knew it was hypocritical of him but he didn't hate anyone. He just didn't trust them.

    "Come on Noah. We're gonna be late."

They ran to school, barely making it in time and sat in their seats. The day droned on as the clock slowly spun and by the time lunch started, William was too tired to do anything. The girls were whispering to each other as usual and stealing glimpses at him. He didn't know if they hated him or not but their stares were uncomfortable. He left the classroom and walked outside to the back of the school and sat underneath the maple tree. At some point he fell asleep and once again he was in his old house, locked inside the closet. His mother standing before the two men who were dragging his father behind them. She burst into flames and the two men were killed. The pool of blood getting bigger and bigger. It trailed towards him and his breathing turned rugged. He tried to get further away but there was something against his back.

    "Will! William!"

He opened his eyes and gasped for air. He composed himself and looked up.

    "Are you ok? Class is gonna start soon."

Noah was looking at him, worried. William's hands were drenched in sweat and he was pale.

    "I'm fine. We should probably head back now."

He tried to stand up but fell on his knees, his legs were shaking making him unsteady.

    "Sorry. I'm fine."

Noah sighed. He ran his hand through his blonde hair, thinking.

    "Mason! Haris! What are you two doing? Class is about to start!"

They looked up following the voice. Their teacher was standing at the corner of the building staring at them.

    "Will, you stay here. I'll go talk to him."

He walked towards the teacher and started talking to him. Then they went back into the building. William was alone again and rested on the maple tree's trunk. It has been 12 years already and he was 16 and yet he still couldn't forget that night. It haunted him whenever it could. He put his head in his knees and closed his eyes. After a moment, he heard some movement around him. He looked up. There were birds gathering on top of the tree and squirrels were running up to him. Even some cats were able to get onto the school campus and they were all surrounding him. William always thought it was strange that animals would be attracted to him. He knew it wasn't his Stelles since Stelles were controllable but he didn't hate it. Then, a blue jay landed on his shoulder and dropped something in his hand. It nuzzled him and sat down comfortably. He held up the object. It was a stone. It felt to him like it was glowing but when he looked again, it was just a clear stone. It was perfectly rounded and bright blue. He didn't know why but the stone felt dangerous, like something that should be kept hidden.

    "Will!"

In a panic, he put the stone away in his pocket.

    "Popular as usual I see."

He looked around and realized that the amounts of animals that had gathered around him doubled in numbers. He stood up and the and the animals began to leave, a few bumping their heads against his body.

    "Just with the animals though."

    "Pfft. Sure. Let's go. I grabbed your stuff and the teacher excused the both of us."

Will didn't notice but many girls were staring out their classroom windows and taking pictures of him and the animals. Since William didn't care much about them, Noah never mentioned it to him and because of that, the number of female fans would increase. They began walking home and Noah passed William a bottle. It was cold but it didn't surprise him.

    "Your Stelles is really useful isn't it?"

    "Careful or I'll make that water burning hot."

Noah's Stelles was control over the temperature of water rather than control over water but he didn't know how it could be useful for anything other than heating water up or cooling it down. He wasn't restricted by distance though and he was able to control water from different areas. Once, he felt so cold when first took a step in the water at the beach, he had accidentally heated up all the water that was within 11 yards of him. This didn't cause a lot of trouble but it didn't help that it was the middle of summer. His family was rich and he had a private beach but he told them he would rather go somewhere where there were people. He lived alone because his parents often traveled for work so he usually stayed over at William's house in a separate room.

    "Are you staying over today?"

    "I'll pass. Tonight, I'll be playing some horror games till morning so I don't want to bother you guys."

They split up and walked home but their houses were across from each other so it wasn't too far. William entered the house and left his things in his room. He went back downstairs and looked around. There was a note on the table.

I'll be home late so eat dinner without me.- Emma

He threw the note away and went back up to his room. He was too tired to make anything so he lay on his bed. He took out the blue rock and examined it again. It wasn't dirty and it had no scratches on it which was odd. He put it on his stand beside him and looked at the photo of his parents. He flipped it down. It was still painful for him to look at it especially after he had that dream again. At some point, he fell asleep and for the first time in 12 years, he had no dreams. When he woke up, it was morning again but he remembered that it was a weekend. He looked over at the table. The stone was gone. He got up and frantically looked around the room. Nothing. He sighed and sat back down on his bed.

    "Damn it."

He didn't know why but he felt frustrated. Maybe because he lost something one of the animals gave or maybe because he felt he shouldn't have lost it, but William was mad at himself for losing it. He lay back on the bed thinking about the stone and didn't notice that there were a pair of eyes staring at him from afar.

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