[untitled]

                   Chapter Four
                    Teleportation

    “Well lookie here!” One of them shouted. “Another kid run away from home! He probably wants to join us!” I tried to swallow the urge to shriek back at the mockery in his voice, but there was too big of a lump in my throat.
    “Wha’s your name, kid?” The person who was talking, I found, didn’t look so old at all. Probably just a few years older than me. He had large poof of curly brown hair. His eyes were also a caramel brown and he had dark skin.
    “I said, wha’s your name.” he demanded. I wanted to answer before I got myself in trouble, but the lump seemed to grow larger and I couldn’t speak. Answer. Said the voice. ‘I don’t think I can.’ Try.
    My mouth opened but no words came out. It took a couple of seconds before I answered. “Austin Bryce.” I croaked. A smile broke across the boy’s face.
    “And your specialty?” I stared at him with bewilderment.
    “Huh?” The whole square erupted with laughter. My face turned red with mortification. ‘What do I say now?’ I asked the voice in my head urgently. I felt as if the voice was the only thing I could depend on in order to stay alive. Teleportation. The voice replied. Before I could speak, the boy did.
    “What is it that you do best?” He enunciated every word as if he was speaking to a mental person or an alien.
    “T-teleportation.” I stammered. The square was silent. Every one of them stared at me with curious eyes. That was when I recognized the strange shades they were. Many of the people-or teenagers I should say- had strange eye colors such as pink, red, purple, orange, exact emerald green, and even gold. There was also one person whose misty eyes were silver.
    “What?” The boy asked.
    “Teleportation.” I repeated with confidence. A few whispers broke out through the crowd. I had no idea what was going on. Why did the voice want me to say teleportation? Maybe they were whispering how mental I looked by saying I specialized in teleportation. Did that even exist? My face turned scarlet as I thought about how stupid I looked.
    “Teleportation?” the boy asked. I nodded. “Prove it.” He stated. He looked serious now, and a lot of the mockery had left his voice.
    ‘What do I do?’ I asked. Nothing. I’ll take over from here. Before my thoughts could ask what the voice meant, I started spinning. My stomach felt hollow and I could actually feel the organs inside of me. My heart pumping, my brain pulsing, and even my lungs struggling for breath. Close your eyes. There was no need in telling me twice. I still felt myself spinning at incredible speed in the darkness.
    But as soon as it had started, it was over. I shot my eyelids up and looked around me. The gangs were gone, and I was back in Central Park. The sky was midnight blue and the moon and stars looked the same as last night. I realized I had just teleported.
    ‘Are you there?’ I questioned in my head feverishly. There was no answer. The voice was gone and I was absolutely alone. No one was at the park at all. Not even the trash collectors who always came here on Saturday. My mind raced. I tried to go through everything that happened to me today, and none of it made sense. I remembered leaving the house an hour before noon, and now, it must have almost been midnight.
    “Austin!” I heard a familiar person call. I looked to the entrance of the park and saw Henry and Elizabeth darting toward me. Henry got to me first and grasped my shoulder sharply.
    “There you are!” he shouted. “What the heck were you thinking, bro?” I didn’t answer, because the lump in my throat was back. Then Eli caught up with us.
    “What is wrong with you, you idiot?” she exclaimed. “We were looking for you all day!” Still, I didn’t comment. “Don’t you even think about running away. Just because Bruno did doesn’t mean you have to!” Bruno. The name seemed as if I had only heard it a decade ago. It was distant, and I even forgot that he was gone.
    “Sorry,” I murmured. Her green eyes were wide with anger.

     “Sorry! Is that all you could say!” She yelled, infuriated. “What if you got hurt! Is all you can say is ‘sorry’?” I avoided her furious eyes and looked to the floor. Henry’s hand was still on my shoulder and he gave it a tight squeeze.
    “Ow, cut it out!” I cried. Eli grabbed my other arm and pulled me vigorously to the exit of the park. “Wait, my bike!” I yelled.
    “I’ll get it.” Henry offered. He looked briefly around the deserted park. “Where is it?” Just then I remembered I left my bike in the dark alleyway. I would have to get it later.
    “Forget about it. I’ll grab it tomorrow.” I said.
    “Like we’ll even let you out of the house after this.” Elizabeth scoffed. I glared at her as she continued to pull me toward her car.
    “Where are Mom and Dad?” I questioned worriedly.
    “They’re driving all over town looking for you!” she replied. I felt my heart drop as I thought about all the trouble I caused today. When we were halfway to the car, I struggled against my sister’s grip.
    “Let go, that hurts!” She ignored me and tensed her squeeze. I writhed and tried to pull away. “Let go!” I bellowed. Elizabeth strived to keep me calm. Just as I slipped away from her hands, Henry’s caught me.
    “Oh no you don’t.” he said. “You aren’t getting away this time.” I wrestled against my older brother, but it was futile. Minutes later, Elizabeth and Henry both had one hand on me and tugged me to the car.
    Eli climbed into the driver’s seat and Henry climbed next to me in the back. His arms were still clutched on me. “Can’t you let go?” I requested irritably. Henry shook his head.
    “Sorry, little bro, but I’m not taking any chances.” I was crestfallen. What did he think? That I was going to unlatch the car door and jump out while Eli was driving? I started to have the feeling he didn’t trust me.
    When we got home, Eli and Henry still clutched my shoulders until we reached the front door. I wasn’t even struggling but they still supposed I would run away. I was relieved when Eli let go of me and dug into her pocket for the house key. Although Henry was stronger, Elizabeth’s talon like fashion nails pierced my skin painfully.
    “Shoot,” she muttered as she dug into her other pockets.
    “What’s wrong?” Henry asked.
    “I can’t find the key.” She admitted.
    “Why don’t you use your stupid nails to open the door?” I said under my breath, rubbing my shoulder. Unfortunately, Eli heard me.
    “Excuse me?” she said in a parental manner. I rolled my eyes. I hated it when she tried to act more like a mom than a sister. Elizabeth glared at me. “What’s gotten into you?” I didn’t answer. To make matters worse, Dad’s minivan pulled over into the driveway. In the driver’s seat sat a red faced and angry father, gritting his teeth. Next to him was a sallow and worried mother close to tears.