Chapter one

The intro sort of to Gifted. Dante is encountered by a mysterious figure and decides to follow him.

I'm staring death in the face and every mistake I've made in life is suddenly becoming apparent. I don't know if I'll make it out of this alive but I'm not going out without a fight. I hate my life. I hate it entirely. But, I see suicide as the coward's way out. Instead of hating my life and throwing it away why not press on and find a way to make it better? My fu- I mean freaking mom is dead and I was NOT going to lock myself in the house and pout. I left home and that quite possibly could have been the worst decision I've ever made. Not because of the fact I don't have technology with me but because of the fact that there's a snarling, drooling, Lion trying to devour me. Maybe entering this forest was my first mistake. Whatever.  I need something to keep him back other then punching him. Because apparently that doesn't really calm him down. Turning my head I notice a loose branch among the dead foliage on the ground, quickly reaching for it as this beast of the wild let's off another roar at me. Because of the slobber and his obvious disassociation with toothpaste I close my eyes yet continue to reach for the loose branch. Him clawing at me didn't help in my endeavor to grab that stick. It's funny how scientists claim the only thing separating us from killing machines like this is our opposable thumbs. Well, applying these tools we were given by mother nature, I grip the stick and then swing my arm back around, smacking the Lion in his messy snout. 

This enraged him even more obviously but I needed some more time to think. And that move obviously shortened the time I had on Earth drastically.One more remark before I die." I know I taste good but honestly shouldn't you be chasing a deer or something?" After saying that,I braced for the first step the feral beast would take in devouring me,ready to die. A cold feeling came over me as The Lion took his head back, before getting coated in a blue lining or Aura as some may say for some odd reason. Was I hallucinating or something? Had my life flashed before my eyes and created something to keep my mind of the fact I was dying? Or by some divine miracle I was being saved? Sounds like both of my explanations were plausible since the once majestic King of the forest was throwing to my right, colliding with the ground and rolling into the fence of bushes. His girth easily pierced them and because of the confusion he was experiencing her retreated. Did I do that?Pfft, no, I don't have any powers to throw Lions willy nilly with! If I did I wouldn't be bleeding like I am right now. Maybe I should get out of this grass. Forcing my tired hands against the grass behind me, I push myself up to my feet and dust off my pants, now panning the environment so that I can see if I could find either whoever helped me or if there was anything I should run from. This "thing" I caught sight of made me nearly jump out of my skin as my eyes focused on this figure. Not only was my savior mysterious looking, I couldn't see his face or any physical features at all. He was slightly taller then me and the darkness of his oddly patterned robe covered his face. 

If he was just going to stand there then maybe I should break the ice and speak first. A thank you was certainly in order. Unfortunately I can't shake the nervousness off my own voice before I speak." I uh.....Thanks? I guess I owe my life to you now." I couldn't help it. This man could be planning to do anything and the fact that he had telekinesis meant that my efforts would be futile in stopping him.His mature yet decrepit voice was enough to indicate that he had some age under his belt. "You are one of us. Come with me young one." Young one? I'm Seventeen, I'm not some small kid! " Just because I'm out here on my own doesn't mean I'm gonna trust some random old stranger!" My words were bold in objection to him. I don't think He's the most trustworthy person right now. His left hand going into the air almost like I was his pet was effective in not only silencing me but irritating me further. " I did just save your life. You do owe me the luxury of hearing me out." My inward anger was enough to force me into a debate with this man,but, I don't want to cause more conflict so maybe I should just follow this mysterious Old man. Glad I thought this one out for once. For my own safety. I don't trust him yet, like a girl being kidnapped I have no other choice but to follow him. The old man saw the silent nod I gave and turned his back to me. He began to walk and unlike most old men I knew his pace was pretty damn fast! In an attempt to catch up I lightly jogged towards him, easily brushing past the bushes and pushing necessary branches out of my way. This mysterious man on the other hand seemed to be using that Telekinetic power of his to do this for him. A light sigh escapes my body as I slow to my own walking pace. I can't help but add this man to my list of envy since I wish I had some sort of unnatural power like him.

In the distance some sort of village was coming into view. It looked pretty lively to me so maybe whatever this man was planning on doing wouldn't go unnoticed. This man's voice actually was beginning to scare me. Especially since he broke the deafening silence with no warning whatsoever. " My name is Lecs. And this, young man, is the village of Monachus." His introduction seemed to be timed for their arrival in this village. What with the smell of food in the air, other hooded men walking around, merchant booths, and even houses paving the streets, it seemed like this village's only distinct feature is the buildings rather then the people since they were all covering their features with robes. And down the middle of the road in between everyone we walked. I had to ask him why this was all necessary. He wouldn't mind answering me,right? " So, Lecs, why did you bring me here?" I couldn't help but raise a brow since this man was so weird. It was past mysterious at this point. " What people obtain through years of meditation you have naturally. You have the gift,Dante. Just like me." How in the world did he know my name!? And The gift? " How do you know my name old man? And what is this gift you speak of?" I had to give him a quick response since he was finally speaking to me. I needed to get all my questions answered now. Now I'm not only confused but I'm creeped out. That tall building protruding out of the middle of the village seemed to be our destination and it sort of gave me an eerie feeling. Should I take this chance to run off?

Lecs seemed a bit too eager to lead me into this place. He stopped in front of where the door was supposed to be,which was instead replaced by a curtain-like drape. He pulled the drape over for me and I entered without hesitation. I wanted to get this over with. What I saw was almost intimidating. Three round rows of men sitting there staring at the door way. All three rows of men were broken by the doorway. The third row at the top was the largest and in turn held the most men. I had to keep walking in though. I didn't want to block Lecs' way inside and irritate him. That circle of candles in the middle of the room really didn't help the thoughts I had. I was afraid but I was NOT going to show any fear. If I did then they would be able to manipulate me. So I had to act as if I didn't care what they were dishing out. " What is all of this!?" I spat, stopping in front of the circle of candles. My tone was confident to show that I would not falter or crumble under the pressure of having some sort of "Gift" these guys wanted. That flat yet still decrepit tone came from behind me only to offer an explanation to these men staring beams at me rather then calm me down. " Fellow Monachus, I have brought the one with the Gift." This whole 'Gift' business was starting to get to me admittedly. I was just earlier talking about how unfortunate I am to not have powers like Lecs when it seems as though I'm now more similar to him then I am my own family. The mono tone all these men spoke in didn't help the creepy vibe I was receiving. " We must unlock his potential immediately. Place him in middle of the candles." 

Although I hated the way these men decided to pursue me without explanation, unlocking some hidden potential deep inside of me was something I could get on board with. Lecs didn't even have to say it, I went ahead and stepped voluntarily into the middle of the candles, turning to face Lecs and take in my next command. I could tell even in the darkness of his hood that I surprised him. But, that didn't change his decrepit tone towards me." Meditate. Sit down and meditate." Simple enough. Although unusual. I sat down and crossed my legs. This is the right way to meditate right? " Whatever you say." A bit condescending but as long as I can lift stuff with my mind I didn't care. I watched as all of the men began to extend their hands towards me and decided to close my eyes at this point. That was when they began to chant in some sort of foreign language. Their mono tone seemed sort even more unsettling as they chanted." Sune. Sune. Sune. Sune." It was repetitive and for some reason I felt a weird tingling all over. Not the curious type of tingle but the tingle almost as if my entire body was slowly falling asleep. I felt as if I should assess it but I knew that this was all apart of "unlocking my potential". Their chants changed and so did the sensation around my body." Dimittie. Dimittie. Dimittie." What in the world did these worlds mean? I tightened my eye lids since this tingle was starting to tickle at me and how would it look if I just burst out with laughter during this ritual? Then they uttered the last word and I just lost it." SCIATIS!"  I heard them yell that and instead of giving them a response my body did the talking for me. Unable to further resist my eyes shot open and the tingle feeling left me in the form of a blue wave of energy.

I looked down at my hands to notice I was covered in a blue aura. This felt amazing! I felt so empowered. As if I could do anything. A shortly lived experience I should say since my body began to ache. Hugging my stomach, another burst of energy left me as I now exited the meditation stance and hunched over. What was going on? I'm too afraid to say anything or ask for help because I might hurt someone. Great, they unlock what's 'inside of me' and I can't even control it. Apparently Lecs knew what was going on because his aged voice boomed around the room saying " Fellow Monachus, take refuge immediately!" It didn't take much time for this last bit of energy to leave me. This wasn't any bit though. It was a torrent of energy exiting my body making it feel as if I could just disintegrate. This power was too much at one time. I sat up on my knees, baring my hands next to me and noticing that this wasn't a wave. This was an explosive torrent of energy I had released. And this building was being destroyed because of it. As more energy left me, my body finally arched and position my gaze facing up, noticing the roof forming into debris and falling around me. Before I could even attempt an escape, a large piece of debris was falling down directly towards me. 

My body was frozen in this agonizing position. But, I knew I had to move! I need to move before it hi-

As the large piece of debris collides against my body, head first I should add, I immediately crumble underneath it. All feeling begins to leave me, as does the rest of this weird energy I was expelling. My vision blurs and I feel myself slowly slipping into the darkness known as unconsciousness. 

Author's Note

I wrote this when I wasn't as advanced as a writer as I am today.