"Concentrate!!"

"I'm doing it as much as I can" 

" Look, you are new here so I'm going easy this time. I'm your mentor. You do as I say if you want to live, or you leave this room and never come back. Your choice."

He nodded. Although he hated it, he knew she was right. It was do or die. 

"Good. Now concentrate!! Focus your mind on the task at hand. Think about nothing else. Let's try again."

He did as he was told. He forgot about everything but the task at hand. After a few minutes, it seemed to work. The birds stopped flying, the leaves stopped rustling. Though it was only for a few seconds, he'd finally done it. 

He'd stopped time.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Mark was a normal kid. He thought he had the best life ever. He had everything. Loving grandparents who treated him as their own. Friends who were there for him wherever he needed. He never wished for anything more than what he had. He was happy.

All that changed when he met Claire. She was the kinda person who grows on you. She opened the path for him to a life he never knew was destined to have and he discovered that he was so much more than merely normal.

But now his secret is out and his life and the lives of those he loves are in danger. Now he has to choose between his family and his destiny and the fate of the world depends upon his choice.

Timeless Teenagers

 She was here and it was scary. She was the girl who fought the biggest criminal of the world and yet, she was scared of a kid’s birthday party. It was as grand as she’d been told and she had to admit that a part of her would’ve liked to be at a place like this, to live like a normal teenager. But the circumstances she was here in made even that tiny bit of appreciation of the whole arrangement blow away in a mist. 


 She didn’t know how to dress for something like this, she’d tried her best but the way that everyone was staring at her made her feel like she’d failed miserably. She started looking around for him; it would be easier to just get it over with. And then she saw him. She didn’t expect to get this feeling of nostalgia upon seeing him, but in hindsight, she should’ve. He was dressed in jeans with a flannel top and yet, it suited him really well and she couldn’t help but see his father’s features in him. 


 He was coming over. Why the hell was he coming over?! She wasn’t ready yet! She started looking around for a place to hide but he was already here. 


“Hi”, she replied a little hesitantly. 


“I’m Mark”, he said, without losing even a bit of his confidence. 


“Oh! Happy Birthday!”, she said the first thing that came to mind. 


“Thanks”, he smiled, “Who are you though?” 


“You don’t know the people at your own party?”, she laughed, trying to cover up her nerves. Come on Claire, get it over with! Tell him your name! 


He laughed too but didn’t seem embarrassed and looked at her with imploring eyes. 


Despite trying to get up the courage to say it and knowing it was only a matter of time before he found out, she couldn’t bring herself to. Not yet. 


“It’s a good party”, she said instead. 


“Yeah, I tried”, he laughed again but this time it seemed a little forced. 


She didn’t know what to say now. He seemed curious and she knew she’d have to tell him her name soon. He carried on. 


“I don’t think I’ve seen you around. Do you go to our school?” 


“No. I heard about this party from a friend and thought I should check it out. We were supposed to come together but he cancelled last minute”, she said, trying to act embarrassed. Technically, that wasn’t a lie. 


“Oh”, he laughed again. What was with this guy and laughing! It was getting on her nerves. He carried on, again. 


“Well, you have me to keep you company”, he smiled saying that. 


The thought scared her. She wanted to stay as far away from him as possible so that she could delay the inevitable for as long as possible. The moment she thought that, her phone rang. Thank God, she thought. 


“Sorry, I have to take this”, she told Mark. 


“No problem, go ahead. You haven’t told me your name yet though”, he said. 


Her phone stopped ringing right that instant. Why, why, why!! She looked at it, willing it to ring again. It seemed like she’d have to answer him now. She really didn’t want to. Better to get it over with now! She kept telling herself. He wasn’t budging either, just standing there and waiting for her to reply. She just said it then. 


“Claire. I’m Claire”, she forced herself to say. 


“That’s a nice name”, was his reply. 


What, no reaction?! She couldn’t believe it. It seemed like the situation was worse than she thought. His curses and anger and blame she was ready for, his ignorance totally caught her off guard. It seemed they hadn’t told him anything. Before she could decide how to reply, her phone rang again. She picked it up and gave him an apologetic look.


Chapter 2: First Meeting