Walking Among the Shadows: Awakening: Revised Edition (27 page)

“Exactly! Moving the box is
only manipulating reality. Shadows can move that box but they can’t make it
disappear and appear instantaneously on the other side of the room. You can see
reality being manipulated but you can’t see with the naked eye time and space
being manipulated. A Shadow can throw a tank just by thinking about it. A
Baraqu can make that tank appear right above an enemy’s head without seeing any
transition between the original location of the tank and the new location without
time ever progressing forward. If it’s nine o’clock in the morning and one
second when the tank is sitting at its original location, it’s still nine
o’clock in the morning and one second when it appears above the head of an
unsuspecting enemy. When a Shadow moves the tank, time moves forward and the
space it once occupied changes as well.”

“So it’s like teleporting
things but never losing time?”

“Yes, something like that, but
not exactly. But you are getting the idea.”

I got myself into position to
attempt the impossible or what I once thought was impossible. I started jumping
up and down and swinging my arms like I was loosening up for a big run.
Suddenly Jaffrey began laughing so hard he almost fell over. What is so funny?
I thought. Here I was about to relocate this box or control time and space to
relocate the box and he was over there laughing it up. It was starting to piss
me off and I was getting aggravated. But I wasn’t going to let him deter me
from doing this. I pointed my fingers towards the box and said, “Okay, box, I
want you over there,” and then I swung around and pointed to the other side of
the room. After about four or five tries with nothing happening, Jaffrey was
now rolling around on the floor wailing and squealing with laughter. By this
time I was ready to smash his head in with the box.

“Stop laughing at me!” I
yelled.

That made him laugh even
harder and he started coughing and hacking, trying to breath in air. Good,
choke on it, I hope you turn blue and faint so that I can concentrate, I
thought. But to my dissatisfaction he found some oxygen and laughed even
harder. I felt my confidence wane and I began to believe that either I couldn’t
do it or I was being played for a fool by Jaffrey. Some extravagant practical
joke telling me I had this power when I really didn’t.

“Man, whatever, keep laughing
then! Enjoy yourself. I’m leaving.”

Jaffrey immediately stopped
laughing and jumped to his feet and appeared in front of me out of nowhere. He
was just on the other side of the room and now here he was right in front of
me.  He’d done to himself what I wanted to do to that box but couldn’t.

“So you’re giving up?”

“I can’t do this, even after
you explaining to me and me thinking I understood. But I couldn’t do it. I’m
not who you think I am.”

“And what made you come to
that conclusion?”

“Huh? Did you just see me fail
over there?”

“You didn’t fail until you
stopped trying and what made you stop trying?”

“I stopped because I couldn’t
do it.”

“How do you know that? At
first you seemed confident enough to attempt it, correct?”

“Yeah, but then nothing
happened.”

“But what happened between the
time you attempted and when you quit?”

Is this man bipolar or something?

“You started laughing at me, that’s
what happened.”

“Because I started laughing
meant you couldn’t do it? Why did you attempt to do it in the first place?”

“Because you told me to.”

“Hmm, so how did you expect to
accomplish it if you didn’t decide for yourself why you were attempting it?
Just because someone is laughing doesn’t mean what you are doing is wrong or
impossible. How many people laughed at Thomas Edison? Martin Luther King Jr.?
The Wright Brothers? Countless; but they continued regardless of ridicule from
shallow and limited-minded people. If you had attempted to relocate the box for
your own reasons and not just because I told you to; my laughter would not have
deterred you. If the great men I just mentioned and other men and women who
have done great things that changed the course of history had acted just
because someone told them to; they would not be remembered today. You must find
your own purpose to tap into the powers inside you. You must find your own
inspiration for being Baraqu. I can teach you, but only you can give your life
purpose to be greater than the flesh you now reside in. There may come a time
when even those who have given you orders may betray you and behave in a manner
outside of your perception of them.

“Does that mean you stop being
who you are just because they set you on the path and now they have forsaken
that very same path? No, you must find your own purpose. Guidance is one thing
I can give you, but you must find your own reasons to take that guidance and
act. Even if I laugh at you there shouldn’t be a reason why you don’t have the
confidence to complete the task. This way of thinking prevents a Baraqu from
being corrupted by those he looks up to and respects. No one is perfect; we are
all imperfect, so we can’t put our will to act in the hands of anyone else.
This is what controlling your own destiny means. This is one of the main
reasons that the Baraqu forbid the practice of religion. Now go back over there
and relocate that box and find a reason why you want to move that box and not
why I want you to move it.”

I knew I was in for a very
unique experience training with Jaffrey but I had no idea it would be like
this. Everything was a test, everything I did, every choice I made, every
thought process was analyzed, tested, and graded. It was like I was being made
into a whole new Aiden. Transforming me from a cat into a lion. I slowly walked
over towards the other side of the room again. After getting so angry at his
laughter and convincing myself that I didn’t have the power to do what he asked
I was reluctant to try this again. But what Jaffrey said made perfect sense. I
always complained about people doing things just because someone told them to
instead of doing things with a mind of their own to think as they pleased. And
here I was suffering from the same mental disadvantage as so many in the world.
I didn’t want to be this way. I wanted to have my own reasons to learn from
Jaffrey, my own purpose.

I stood there and closed my
eyes and began to breathe slowly. Jaffrey was now singing “Living La Vida Loca”
by Ricky Martin; a song I loathe with all my being. How did this man know what
would get to me? I continued to breathe and concentrate completely on my breathing.
Soon he started teleporting himself all over the room, still singing, sometimes
even popping up right next to me screaming in my ear, “She will turn you out,
living la vida loca!” Man, he was so annoying. I continued to breathe and
concentrate and soon the annoying sound of his singing started to fade until it
was only a whisper. I began to reflect on all the things that made me happy or
proud to be Aiden Storm.

What made me tick, what was my
driving force to be better and much to my surprise the only image that popped
in my head was Sarah. At first her image made me uncomfortable and confused and
Jaffrey’s singing temporarily got louder. I couldn’t understand why Sarah, “
the
troll princess from the north
,” would be the only image that popped in my
head. We argued constantly and rarely saw eye to eye. But when I thought about
that night in my mom’s room with horror and darkness all around us, she was the
reason that something awakened inside of me. Protecting her and the love I felt
for her were the deciding factors. Yes, I loved my mom more than I could ever
express but Sarah was my little sister and regardless of how annoying she could
be, I loved her and it was my duty to protect her. I never wanted to see her
cry, have her heart broken, or feel pain.

I wanted to protect her and
would give my life to do so. She was my reason and it all made sense to me now.
I always wanted to impress her and when she was impressed it made my day so
much better. I wanted to be a great example for her and because of her high
standards impressing her was truly something to be proud of.

Soon a warm vibration started
flowing through my entire body and I began to feel focused and relaxed.
Everything was silent now even though I was aware Jaffrey was still bouncing
around the room, singing that horrible song at the top of his lungs. He and his
actions didn’t matter, I was completely within myself and even with my eyes
closed I could feel and sense everything around me. The room, the box, Jaffrey,
the area outside the room and outside of this place. I then realized where I
was. Jaffrey’s hideout was located underground beneath a Buddhist temple. It was
daytime outside, almost noon and the monks were going about their day,
oblivious of what was going on beneath them, unaware of the power that was
about to be unleashed right below their feet. There were hundreds of children
here as well, training, learning, and doing chores. The temple was beautiful
and tranquil. I made a mental note to come to this temple one day and just
enjoy the atmosphere. Now I understood why Jaffrey chose this place; it was
full of positive energy twenty-four hours a day.

These monks only wanted to
live in peace and teach those willing to learn. It was a perfect sanctuary for
anyone needing this kind of energy and environment. Then I felt myself being
whisked away beyond the temple, beyond China, beyond the seas and mountains,
until I came to a place very familiar to me. My grandparents’ home in Spain and
there she was; Sarah sitting in her room just staring out at the coastline with
tears running down her face. She was afraid and I could hear her whispering
something and then I heard my name escape her lips. She was repeating the same
thing over and over again, “Aiden, where are you?” I’ve never seen or felt
Sarah’s emotional energy the way I felt it that day. She was in pain
emotionally and the only person she felt she could relate to and could ease her
pain was me. At that moment I decided to make sure that I would always protect
her and I was willing to move entire galaxies to ensure my baby sister’s
happiness and safety. That was a life-changing experience for me; while my
physical body was standing in that training room, my consciousness was standing
next to my inspiration and my reason to fight.

I then realized she was the
reason why I burst into a flaming torch and destroyed the threat that was
Jason. Her fear in that closet had awoken something in me that led me here. On
that day I began to realize my purpose and what being a big brother really
meant and how it could change or destroy everything depending on the decisions
I made. I wasn’t a hundred percent clear but I was beginning to see clearer.
And just like that I was back in the room with Jaffrey still singing that
horrible song, and the box. At that moment I began to feel the power surge that
made me Baraqu vibrate through my entire body. Every organ, every inch of me
was feeling the rush of this strange yet powerful ability. I looked at the box
and soon I saw things I never thought possible. It was like the box was there
but wasn’t, it was no longer completely solid. I could see everything that made
the box a box. All the man-made elements as well as the atoms that made up
those elements. It was an amazing yet scary image. I refused to look at Jaffrey
for fear of seeing him the same way. That would have broken my concentration
completely.

Suddenly the thought of
relocating that box wasn’t impossible and just with a thought the box was gone,
leaving an empty space where it once sat. By now Jaffrey had stopped singing
and was staring at me with a smile on his face.

“What? Why are you staring at
me?”

“I’m not staring at you, I’m
looking behind you. Turn around.”

I slowly turned to behold the
exact box that had disappeared sitting on the opposite side of the room. A
feeling of monumental success came over me. I could feel the positive energy
flowing through this place. I could also feel the monk’s energy as it fueled my
powers. It was an indescribable feeling.

“You feel that?” Jaffrey
asked.

“Yes, I do, it’s wonderful!”

“Now try to imagine that
feeling a million times more potent.”

“Oh my God! How could that
even be possible?”

“It is and that is the feeling
a Shadow gets when they absorb the energy of pain and suffering.”

“That is an impossible feeling
to even comprehend.”

“Yes it is and now you have a
fraction of an idea of what the Shadows are fighting to maintain and how they
could be led to destroy this realm without a second thought of the
consequences. It’s a feeling and power that should never be allowed to
continue. This is what the Baraqu are up against. The addiction of power, power
that has been tainted by the pain, death, and suffering of the life we were
chartered to protect.”

Considering what Jaffrey just
told me and the wondrous rush I just got from tapping into the positive energy
around me, I started to understand how someone could become enslaved by this
power and the feeling it gave. This was my first time and I was already anxious
to feel that rush of power again and if a Shadow’s rush was even more intense
than what I just felt I could fully understand why that would drive anyone to
madness.

“But why doesn’t the Baraqu
become addicted to their power?”