"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 knew what he was trying to do. She wasn’t just sent there because of her mother, she was also damn good at her job and right now, her job was to protect Mark. It helped that she’d always been an early riser, preferring the solitude that early mornings provided to the hustle and bustle of the rest of the day. 


“Good morning” she said, after a moment of silence. 


“Good morning” he replied. “I didn’t expect you to be up so early after all that happened yesterday.” 


“I’ve always been an early riser and yesterday wasn’t as unusual for me as it was for you” She realized her mistake at his grimace. She shouldn’t have brought up their differences. That wouldn’t convince him to take her along. 


“Well, I was just going for a jog around the block. Be right back” he said and started to move away. 


“Look Mark, we both know that’s not what you’re going out for. I don’t want to make this harder than it already is for you. Despite what you might think, I do know what it’s like to be a teenager.” 


“If you know, then just let me go and talk to them in peace. We don’t need you hovering over us like a bodyguard. They won’t trust what I say if you’re there, it'll seem like I’m being forced.” 


“I wouldn’t have crashed your time with your friends, just followed you at a distance to make sure you’re safe.” 


“That wouldn’t be creepy at all” he drawled out. 


“Would it be better for you or one of your friends to get shot without me being there to stop the bullet?” she sounded fed up. 


“How did you do that anyway? I still don’t get it.” He wasn’t being subtle about the change of topic but she decided to follow his lead this one time. She didn’t want to stay on opposite sides with him. It would never work out that way. 


“I told you, I delayed time for a moment, letting me dodge and making the bullet hit the wall behind me instead.” 


“But how does that work? Like, can you do that whenever you want? Can you do it for as long as you want? I have so many questions.” His nerdy side was peeking through and she couldn’t help but be endeared. 


“I’ll tell you all that later, when we’re on the way.” She tried to get him back on topic but it obviously made his mood worsen. “I’m not going to let you go alone and it’ll be easier if you let me go with you rather than for me to follow creepily, as you put it.” 


“I have to pick a friend up on the way. What will I tell him about you?” he tried to deter her again. 


“Tell him the truth. I was at the party yesterday and got hurt so your grandparents asked me to stay and now you’re dropping me off after breakfast. You can drop me a few blocks from where you’re going and I’ll follow discreetly” She’d thought it all out the night before. 


“You know what, fine. We’re wasting time here arguing.” He sounded resigned but at least he’d agreed. That’s all that mattered. 


He turned to unlock the car and she got in before he could. He went to open the door so they could leave. The car was cleaner than she’d expected. Maybe she’d been running on too many stereotypes about teenage boys and she needed to stop doing that. 


He got in the car and said, “You’ll be the one closing the door before we leave.” 


She looked at him, only to find him looking back at her for confirmation. She nodded and he started to back out. Guess she’d get to interact with another normal teenager now. She couldn’t help the excitement in her gut.


Chapter 8: Compromise