Talent Storm
Authors: Brian Terenna
TALENT
STORM
BRIAN TERENNA
Table of Contents
Copyright © 2013 by Brian Terenna
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
First published: April 2013
Sunset over Peconic Books
Revolting Road – Fantasy Book Review Blog
Dedication:
I dedicate this to my mother and father. Thank you for all of your time, support, and love. Without you both, I wouldn’t have had the drive, dedication, and support system I needed to finish this novel.
CHAPTER 1
Jerking awake, my heart pounded in my chest, rocking me back and forth. I loathed my habitual nightmares; they always seemed so real. Would I ever be able to move on? Wrapped in my blankets, I felt warm tears roll down my face. It had been seven years since my parent’s death, but I still cried whenever I thought of them. I crawled out of bed and entered the shower. Hot water streamed down on me, relaxing my muscles and calming my mind. After the shower, I tugged on jeans and a green T-shirt. Condensation coated the bathroom mirror, so I cleaned a swath with my hand to gaze into it. I spiked my hair with homemade flaxseed gel, making sure it was perfect. Despite my tears, I looked good, as always. I admired my square jaw, high cheekbones, and large green eyes that rested under angular eyebrows. I smiled, flashing my teeth and crinkling the corners of my eyes. It’d be ten times worse to be parentless and ugly.
I straightened my shirt, left my bedroom, and walked down the hardwood-floored hallway. The walls were empty and plain, but overall it was a well-built house. Some other citizens lived in run-down housing. It seemed crazy that conditions outside of the Coalition were rumored to be worse. Fortunately, my uncle worked with the Coalition military, which supplied us with decent housing. The greatest negative about the housing was the presence of my uncle. I sometimes wondered if the military shaped him or if he was born for the military.
He enjoyed reminding me of my faults, at least the faults he perceived. He found me to be selfish, irresponsible, and weak. To him it wasn’t acceptable to be sad if your parents died. His constant down-speak infuriated me. After all, his intelligence paled in comparison to mine. Just because I wanted to live a relaxed, enjoyable life, didn’t mean that I was irresponsible or self-centered. Why did life have to be miserable? My philosophy was to avoid stress, work quickly, and have fun. Either way, my uncle’s frequent absences from home made life bearable.
I entered the kitchen and jerked to a halt. My uncle, with his gray temples and wide face, stood near the fridge, drinking a glass of pear juice. He was usually at work at this time. Like always, he wore his navy-blue uniform and military boots. He never relaxed or changed into comfortable clothes. How did he live like that?
“What are you doing home? Aren't you supposed to be at work?” I asked.
Ignoring my question, he finished drinking before putting down his glass. He threw up his hands and sighed. What was his problem with me today?
“It’s about time you came down here. I need some help around the house. You didn’t even finish the dishes... again.” He lowered his eyebrows, and his face was already bright red.
My muscles tensed into knots as I spun toward the door. “Sorry, but I have plans with Ben.” The words tumbled out of my mouth.
His hand shot out, his finger pointing at me. “You will not move.”
Although he was ten paces away, it felt like he poked me.
My stomach clenched, and my body went cold. Although my dread made me feel like gulping air, I took slow breaths to calm my pounding heart. I hated being controlled, but I knew what happened when my uncle was angry.
Run
, my mind suggested, but my uncle’s stare froze me in place.
Run.
The thought shouted in my mind, melting my rigidity and forcing me to action. I darted to my left away from my uncle, aiming for safety.
After taking one step, I lurched to a jarring halt. Stunned, I craned my neck, glancing backward. My jaw dropped as I attempted to process what had happened. Somehow, from ten paces away, my uncle caught me. He gripped a fistful of my shirt, his expression grim. Of course... it was his talent. Although I’d never seen him use his enhanced speed, I knew he possessed it. After all, he was in the military.
He pulled me close, exhaling disdain. I could feel the heat of it on my face. A surge of adrenaline, born of fear and anger, shot through me, and my heart fluttered. Should I hit him? Was it time to make a stand? The thought was absurd. Instead, I lunged toward the door, my fear driving me. The force of my lunge sent my uncle sprawling to the ground. How did I overpower him? I didn’t pause to discover the answer. Instead, I sprinted through the opened door. Had he left it open? It seemed unlikely, but how else? I had never dared defy my uncle before, and couldn’t believe I just did.
He shouted behind me, “Get back here!”
I froze fifty feet away, a shiver running through me. I looked over my shoulder at his hard face. At the sight of him, my knees weakened, threatening to topple me to the ground. He could catch me in an instant if he wanted. His talent made him ten times faster than me. He didn’t move, though, or say anything else; he just stared at me with his cold eyes. I turned and sprinted away again, fearing that at any second he’d appear before me to bar my path.
☼☼☼
Halfway to my best friend Ben’s parents’ house, I finally slowed my racing heart and composed myself. Ben and I planned to hang out at the creek to enjoy nature, talk about girls, play chess, and drink some of his homemade liquor as we often did. The woods around the creek were one of the only patches of forest in Rapid City. It was still safe even though it was outside the main wall within the secondary wall.
I strode past the rest of the military houses for a few miles until I arrived at Ben’s. Like mine, his was decently sized. I once saw some pre-war houses outside the city in the eastern part of the Coalition. Only the foundations were left, but I could still tell that they were huge. People must have lived so luxuriously back then. I grabbed the bronze knocker on Ben’s door and thumped it twice. His family had salvaged the knocker from outside of the city. The Coalition didn’t waste resources on frivolous things.
The door swung open and Ben’s mom stood before me. She smiled, greeting me cheerfully as always. “Oh Jaden. It's so nice to see you. How are you today deary?”
I couldn’t help but smile back. “I'm fine Missus Lockhart. Is Ben around?”
She shifted from one foot to the other. “Yes, he’s here. Did you two have plans?”
“Yeah, we’re going for a walk down to the creek. It's always nice to see you too though.” Ben's mom was of the few genuinely nice people I knew. She was one of my rare small-talk partners. I typically did my best to avoid it.
“Well thank you. It's great to see you too. You should come over for dinner sometime soon. We had a lovely dinner party yesterday with some friends of ours. Ben even made a new friend, Mister and Missus Melmen's daughter.”
“I'd love to. Thanks for the invite.” I glanced behind her and noticed Ben’s dad in the kitchen.
“Who’s here, Honey?” he called. “I can’t have any distractions now. I have to get back to my training.”
“It’s just Jaden. Go get Ben,” she said to him, then turned to me. “He’s always working, that one.”
In a few seconds, Ben came jogging down the stars with a bag strapped around his shoulders. His dad, a tall man whose hair was all gray, stopped Ben at the bottom of the stairs.
“You should really be doing your talent development exercises, not wasting time at the creek.”
“Dad. I haven’t showed any talent yet. You did at thirteen. I don’t think I’m going to have it,” Ben said with his head lowered.
“You will and you’ll make me proud with all of your future accomplishments.”
“Let the boys have some fun,” said Ben’s mother. “The TAT isn’t too far away now. We’ll know if he has talent soon enough.”
Ben slipped by his mother and up to me. “Thanks mom. See you later,” he said, waving to her.
She smiled at him. “Have fun boys but be safe.”
Ben and I hugged while patting each other’s backs before setting off.
As his mother shut the door, I heard her say, “Honey, go easy on the boy. You’re hard to live up to.”
Ben and I walked side by side, his long brown hair whipping in the summer breeze. He was tall, and women found him attractive, despite his patchy scruff and crooked nose that he broke defending me from bullies. He wore jeans with torn knees and an earth-toned T-shirt.
I patted him on the back. “Hey, are you all right?”
“I’m good. I just better have talent. If I don’t, I don’t know what my dad will think of me.”
“I’m sure he’ll understand.”
Ben shook his head with pursed lips. “I don’t know. He’s an elite bio. He was awarded the Medal of Bravery when he turned the tide in the Battle of Newcastle. He was the youngest to ever express his talent, and he’s a
general
.” Ben’s eyes flew open, and he covered his mouth. “Oops. I wasn’t supposed to tell you that.”