Walking Among the Shadows: Awakening: Revised Edition (26 page)

“Maybe you were not made aware
of anyone else that may have been affected. Most of the time only Baraqu can
escape the Erset La Tari alive. You are very fortunate that you survived being
cursed multiple times even though your powers were not awakened at that time.
Although your resilience was amazing it’s still very shocking and  I need you
to tell me everything.”

So I spent the next two hours
explaining every detail of my encounters with Jasmine and all the events that
led to the night Jason revealed himself. After I was done, Jaffrey sat in his
chair, silent, and looked at the floor. He would periodically look up at me
with then would look back at the floor.

“I don’t know what to say,
everything you told me doesn’t make sense. I know you are telling me the truth.
I can feel that from you, but it doesn’t add up. Something else is going on
here. Firstly, you should not have survived the first time she performed Erset
La Tari, but to survive three times and to have the curse only felt by you is
even more bizarre. When Shadows use that curse it takes a vast amount of
negative energy to cast and it’s used to take out multiple targets, never a
single individual. I have never seen that kind of power wielded by a Shadow,
let alone a teenage girl. It would take a great amount of power for a Shadow to
concentrate the Erset La Tari on just one individual and prevent anyone around
them from being affected. The concentration and mental control of that girl is
something we have never encountered before in all our dealings with the
Shadows. If what you say is accurate, she would be even more powerful than
Jason who  was the second most powerful Shadow in their order. His powers were
only exceeded by Alal, who is a Shadow and a warlock. A very powerful and
dangerous combination.

“But that would also mean you
possess a power that no other Baraqu has ever possessed. Even while your powers
lay dormant they still protected you. That is the only explanation why you
survived Jason’s attack and was able to destroy him. Aiden, you must understand
that very few people in this realm, Baraqu included, would have been able to
defeat him. You possess a power inside you unlike any other. If you apply
yourself, you could be the most powerful Baraqu in history.

“Only a pure Immaru would be
more powerful and they are the original form of our kind that wielded cosmic
energy, not just emotional energy.”

“I’m still not impressed,
Jaffrey. This whole situation is hard to deal with.”

“I understand, Aiden, and it
is unfair to expect you to be able to deal with it, but life isn’t fair and if
you wait around for life to play fair you will die. It’s that simple.”

“Dying isn’t simple, Jaffrey.”

Jaffrey laughed at my comment.

“Yes, Aiden, that is correct.
Death isn’t simple at all.”

Jaffrey decided to call it a
day after our talk about Jasmine and my experiences with her. I knew he was
going to try and research more about her and see if maybe there was something
he could find. I hope he did because if I was to ever run into her again I
wanted to be prepared. The last thing I needed was for her to get the upper
hand on me again. I guess one good thing was that now I knew I wasn’t turning
into a serial killer. But knowing what I knew now, I almost wished I were a
serial killer; it would be simpler to deal with than what I was dealing with
now. I almost wished that….almost.

T
he
start of the next day of training didn’t consist of any alternate realities or
secret tests. Just Jaffrey and I standing in a room he used to train in. There
were all kinds of targets on the walls and other contraptions I was unfamiliar
with. A lot of them had various blades and weapons attached to them. I got the
eerie feeling that today’s training was going to hurt…a lot. According to
scientists there are 117 known elements. The truth is there are close to 5000
different elements in the realm. This does not include the man-made elements.
The Baraqu know of these elements but refuse to reveal them to mankind in order
to preserve the little life and sanity that remains in this realm. Baraqu have
the ability to control each and every one of them. We can combine them, create
from them, see them, and also use them as weapons with just a thought. This
ability gave us the name Elementals by those of mankind who had the privilege
of knowing our true identity. Depending on the situation, we will use a certain
element or a combination of elements to either neutralize or identify a threat.
Whether it’s a Shadow, man-made weapons, or viruses. Through this power we are
able to fight and defeat almost any threat. First we must identify these
elements and the only way to do that is to harness time and space. Damn! Things
were sounding so good until he said that. I wasn’t prepared for this so I hoped
he had some kind of manual.

“
H
ow do
I do that, Jaffrey? I’m not gonna play games with you. I’m still finding it
hard to comprehend the whole control-time-and-space thing.”

Jaffrey smiled and walked over
to the far side of the room and clapped his hands. The sound of his hands
colliding with each other sent shockwaves through the room causing my ears to
start ringing. I bent down covering my ears, trying to avoid the shockwaves and
suddenly the ringing stopped and when I stood up I noticed I wasn’t in the room
anymore but in outer space. The shock of being in space caused me to scream
without even knowing it was coming out of my mouth. Again, Jaffrey smiled.

“Relax Aiden, we are safe. I
created an invisible air bubble so we will be able to breathe.”

“Okay, but can you give me a
heads up before you start whisking me to outer- worldly locations? I mean,
maybe once I get myself more acquainted with my powers you won’t have to. But right
now…I really need a heads up because I almost had a heart attack.”

“All right, I can do that.”

“So, out of all the places to
explain time and space, why are we here?”

“Because in order to explain
what you need to know you have to see it in action.”

“Okay, fair enough.”

I began to look around and
marvel at the greatness of what was beyond our blue skies. It was miraculous
and a moving experience to view space in this manner. It was like looking at
the beginning of everything.

“Look around you, Aiden. What
do you see?”

“Space—a vast amount of
space!”

“Exactly and everything that
occupies it. Time and space are the reasons why our reality exists. Our atoms
exist at a particular time in space. This is our reality. In a different realm,
different atoms exist in another time in space. We have the ability to alter
the time and space that anyone or anything occupies in our realm. If you have
access to enough power you could in theory move the Earth where Venus is and
vice versa. But only by accessing cosmic energy can that be accomplished. Our
powers, though great, are on a much smaller scale than that. Time and space are
all around us, it is us. So in order to harness them all you need to do is
think, believe, and it will be so.”

“So I can do anything I can think
of?”

“That depends. Without the
confidence and belief in your powers, you cannot. If you believe you are strong
enough to relocate a house it will be so. If you have any doubts and
reservations of your ability it will not or you could only relocate half of the
house and cause more damage than good. That is why the emotional energy we
receive from mankind is so important. It’s like a battery to our powers. It
fuels the powers we possess. We harness the positive energy that mankind gives
off from experiences they have that enrich their lives. The feeling of getting
that job they always wanted, the emotions someone may feel from getting that
beautiful crush to notice them, when their favorite sports team wins a
championship or a crucial game, that first kiss, and love. These emotions among
others are the fuel that moves the power within us to allow us to do amazing
things.

“Positive energy is an energy
that demands confidence to be wielded. If you are unsure or if you are affected
by negative emotions like hate, pain, or fear, that energy source subsides and
your power source becomes weaker. So it’s not enough just to be able to harness
the emotional energy from mankind, we have to remain on the frequency of the
energy we use. Positive thought for positive energy. You can’t hate and use the
powers of the Baraqu. Your powers will become ineffective or they will become
tainted by negative energy and soon you will become what you are supposed to
fight against. You will become the problem and not the solution.”

“So I must be in a constant
chipper mood in order to use my powers?”

 Jaffrey laughed at my
question, but I could tell he was expecting it.

“No, it is impossible to feel
like butterflies and butterscotch on the field of battle. No man, unless he is
inherently evil, can find joy on the battlefield where death and destruction
surrounds him. You will experience emotions that you’ve never thought you could
in those situations and joy isn’t one of them until the battle is won. It is
your intentions that drive the positive thoughts that enhance our powers. You
are on the field of battle to protect your loved ones, you are protecting those
that can’t protect themselves, you are a warrior of light fighting evil and
preventing the entire planet from falling into darkness—these among other
reasons are the driving forces that should provoke us to respond to a threat.
We never react; always respond. Always keep your head, and understand that even
though you possess great power you are a servant and not a master.”

“A servant? Now wait a second,
Jaffrey, I’m no one’s servant.”

“And it is that attitude that
will break your power source and leave you venerable to attacks.”

“I don’t understand how you
can say we are servants when we possess such great power.”

“Because we are here to serve,
not to be served. These powers were given to us for a purpose greater than
ourselves. If you try and use these powers strictly for your own personal gain,
you will not only fall to temptation but you will also lose your power.”

“How is that possible?”

“This power we possess is a
gift, but not a gift for us. It’s for mankind and we are to use it to protect
mankind, not enslave them.”

“Isn’t that what the Shadows
are doing? I mean, looking at the state of the world, it seems like not only do
they still possess powers, but they are winning!”

“Yes, it may seem that way but
what you fail to understand that even though they still possess power it comes
at a cost. That cost is being weaker than intended.

“The Shadows found a much
darker source of power that doesn’t have the same rules we are governed by. So
they can use their powers for personal gain and to enslave mankind.”

“So they have no rules and we
do. Seems kind of unfair doesn’t it Jaffrey?”

 “Maybe to the untrained mind,
yes, but without guidelines there is chaos, and the universe is built on order
and not chaos. Of course, the inhabitants of this planet have been led to
believe that the universe is filled with chaos and everything just happens by
coincidence. It’s a free-for-all universe and the only reason why this planet
exists is because of a Big Bang millions of years ago. Even if a Big Bang did
occur, there had to be something that initiated that bang. There can’t be a
vast universe of nothing and then one day…BANG!” Jaffrey responded.

“Without a deciding factor.
Something greater than us decided to allow that bang to occur and something
greater than us decided to let life flourish in the realm. It is because of
this that we serve a cause greater than ourselves. We are the warriors of light
and order. Look around you, Aiden. Does the universe look chaotic to you?”

“Actually, no, it doesn’t. It
seems like everything has a purpose, even out here in the vast blackness of
space.”

“Exactly. You are learning,
Aiden. Open your mind to being more than yourself, be Baraqu which is a warrior
of light, a warrior for life and order.”

Listening to Jaffrey explain
how all life is connected and our relationship to it made me realize just how
wise this old man was. Only someone who has been around thousands of years
could amass this kind of knowledge and wisdom. He understood his purpose and
the purpose of the powers we possessed and he wanted me to understand them as
well. I was getting it but it still seemed like such a big responsibility.
Before, all I wanted was to start at running back on the school’s football team
and now I was being coached and trained to be, for lack of a better reference…a
superhero. It was a lot, but I knew I had no other choice but to learn as much
as I could so that I could protect my family—because their protection was now
in my hands.

“Now it’s time to return to
the training room. Do you think you have grasped the time-and-space concept?”

“Honestly, I still don’t know,
but I do have something up here dancing around now that makes sense.”

“That’s a start. Let us
return.” And just like he did before, he began clapping and shockwaves started
to fill the air bubble.

Just as suddenly as he folded
the alternate reality the day before, he managed to get us back in the training
room, but not without my ears suffering from the transition.

“Jaffrey, can I ask you
something before we continue?”

“Sure.”

“What is with all the
theatrics when using your powers? I mean that last session actually hurt. Is
that something I’m going to have to do to get my powers to work?”

“No, each of us uses what we
feel comfortable with to invoke our powers. I love theater, always have, the
way men and women create a whole world just from their imagination. No powers
or tricks, just great imagination and skills. What do you feel comfortable with
or what relaxes you, Aiden?”

I had to think about that
question because no one ever asked me that before. I mean I loved playing video
games, football, and driving my new car, but I didn’t think that would
translate well and none of these things actually relaxed me. The only thing I
knew that relaxed me was Tai Chi. I practiced Tai Chi every morning before
going to school to relax me and get my blood flowing. When I did it I felt like
I was swimming in air. That’s it! Tai Chi! When I told this to Jaffrey he
seemed very pleased. He went on to say that using Tai Chi as my expression to
invoke my powers would help me to focus and maintain a level head during
intense situations and encounters.

Then he set my attention to
the far side of the room. There on a table was a big cardboard box. It looked
like a moving box of sorts. It looked harmless enough, but the only thing was
it hadn’t been here before. I wanted to ask but I decided not to; I didn’t want
it to appear I was stalling the process of training me.

“Now I want you to make that
box appear on the other side of the room.”

“Don’t you mean move it?”

“No, teleporting that box is
easy, making it appear without any time lapse isn’t. You must learn to use your
powers that manipulate time and space and not the power to manipulate reality.”

“There you go again, Jaffrey,
confusing me.”

“Okay, where is that box?”

“Over there.”

“What time is it?” I looked at
my watch and noticed it was only nine thirty in the morning, but it seemed like
I had been awake for much longer.

“It’s nine thirty.”

“So that box is over on that
table at nine thirty in the morning, correct?”

“Yes!”

“So now make that box appear on
the other side of the room at nine thirty in the morning.”

After listening to him explain
it that way, things started to make sense now and I began to understand the
concept of manipulating time and space.

“So that box being over there
on that table is the current reality?”

“Yes.”

“And when I manipulate time
and space I change the current reality to the box being on the other side of
the room at the same time.”