Author's note:
I keep saying that I thought that this part of Caleb's tale would be over by now, and that's because -- well I thought it would be. And yet it keeps asking for more to be told.
That being said I fully intend for this to be the last chapter. Let's see if the story agrees.
Once again thanks to Dr Mark for his tireless work in editing. This story would not be what it is without him.
KR
PM
Caleb 52 -- Danger
I was sitting working my way through the cafeteria menu, when Dana caught up with us an hour later. I had been eating steadily the entire time we had waited, much to the amusement of the cafeteria staff and some other visitors who'd watched me demolish my way through several trays of food. I was just about done when Dana joined us.
She looked at the table, eyes wide at the aftermath.
"Hungry?" she asked. I grinned at her.
"Not now," I said. "But I get a bit peckish when I work like that."
"Caleb," she began.
"Not here," said Gracie. "Save it for later. What are you doing now? Are you staying or coming back with us?"
"Coming back," she said. "Mom's fine, and I need to move my stuff out of the Dorm. If, that is," she looked at both Gracie and me, "the offer still stands?"
I looked at Gracie who was beaming. "Of course," she said. "You know I want you to move in with me."
Dana looked at me. "Caleb?"
"Why don't I get the girls to meet us at the dorms with my truck," I said. "That way we should be able to get everything done in one trip."
Dana smiled and nodded.
"I need to get a shower," she said. "I must look like I got run over by a big truck."
"You look beautiful," said Gracie gallantly. I snorted. Gracie looked at me scandalized but Dana just grinned.
"We're not much for social lies," she explained to Gracie. "I know I look like shit. Thanks for the uplift though. Caleb, you and I need to have a long talk. Lots of long talks."
I smiled at her. "I know," I said.
The girls were at the dorms waiting for us with my truck when we arrived a couple of hours later. I'd kept them updated with the events of the day, and it took the seven of us no time at all to empty Dana's room into Gracie's car and my truck. We decided to move Gracie and Dana straight into the den bedroom, as it would save time later when we hired a contractor to come and start work on the ensuite.
I left the girls to finish off the last bits and went to make dinner. Despite nearly emptying the cafeteria less than four hours earlier, I was still hungry.
"It takes a lot out of you?" asked Dana watching me cook.
"Hmm?" I asked having been in a world of my own.
"Using your power," she said. "It takes a lot out of you."
"It can," I said. "The more I use it, the easier it gets. I struggled to train more than my TK at first."
"TK?" asked Dana. I held my hand out and the salt shaker jumped off the countertop and smacked into my palm. I added a pinch to the pot and then replaced the salt on the countertop.
"Telekinesis. When I started training my TK, I began by lifting weights," I said. "I started small, and built up to where I could lift several thousand pounds. But the first time I lifted anything significant, I was out for about six hours afterwards. It's really a lot like physical training and body building, only with my mind."
"And he nearly killed himself saving me," said Ness walking into the kitchen.
"What?" said Dana looking concerned. Ness told her tale, and also the tale of the crashed tractor. Dana looked at me again.
"How many lives have you saved?" she asked.
I shrugged. "I don't know. A couple. Do you remember the discussion we had about consent and healing after the superpower ethics class?"
Dana chewed her lip, and then smiled wryly. "You never once asked for consent to treat my mother," she said. "And yet, until now, I hadn't even considered it."
"In her case, I couldn't get consent as there was no one to ask," I said. "You, as her daughter, are not her next of kin so you are unable to give consent. I couldn't ask your father, who I technically assaulted with my power, and your mother was in no state to give consent herself. So where was my authority to act?
"Sometimes I have to make decisions simply because I'm the only one who can. I can't allow people to learn my secret. You know why, Gracie told you. If the Healer network were to be exposed, it would cease to exist. The Healers would be hounded, persecuted, prosecuted and, eventually, slip away into obscurity, that is if they weren't murdered by some weird religious nut. Then all those that they could have saved -- would die.
"I've made mistakes, Dana, and you were right that day about Jasper. I worked those boys over, and the decision to break Jasper's arm was cold, calculated, and deliberate. I wanted revenge for what he'd done to Jules. He drove that poor girl to the roof of the science building, wanting to end her own life, and for what? Because he wanted access to her father's money, and he wanted to get his dick wet. I'm still not sure which one was his driving motivation."
Dana looked at me then came over and put her arms around me, pulling me to her, and laid her head on my chest. I stepped away from the stove, and Ness took over while I held the young girl.
"One thing we never considered," Dana said, her voice muffled against my chest, "never even spoke about, was that the supe would be a person. That they would have emotions, feelings, and faults. They would be under enormous pressure, coping with everything we norms coped with, as well as their powers on the top of that. I never considered that.
"You saved my mom. She was dying and you Healed her. If we were in ethics class, no doubt I would be raving about abuse given what you did to my father and the nurse, and the fact that you didn't ask anyone's permission; you just took it upon yourself to act. But in your actions, you saved her. And I can never ever repay what you did for me, for us.
"The really stupid, sad, and frustrating thing is that I can't tell anyone. I can't tell my father that my friend was the man who brought his wife back to him; it was you, and not his precious God, that snatched her from the jaws of death. Knowing him he'll be claiming miracles and acts of God, meaning HE will be taking vicarious credit for your amazing act.
"But what makes YOU amazing, makes you a supe, is that recognition doesn't seem to matter to you. You're not doing this for the accolades. You're doing it because you can, and because it's the right thing to do."
I looked down at her, where she was nestled against me. I had no answers, no affirmation, no rebuttal.
"I'm just like anyone else," I said, "trying to make my way in the world. I have a slightly bigger toolbox than most other people, but I'm using what tools I've got in the best way I know how.
"Dinner's ready," said Ness gently and we, Dana and I, parted.
"Go get the others?" I asked Dana. She nodded as Ness and I served up the food and put the plates on the table. It was starting to feel like working in a restaurant. With myself, my girls, Josh, Louise, and now Gracie and Dana, we were feeding nine people at each mealtime. Our grocery bill was soaring even without my voracious appetite when I was training.
I didn't mind. I loved having all these people around. It felt right to be in a big family and, without hesitation, l considered all of these people to be a part of my family. We sat around the table, eating dinner and chatting about all kinds of things. We spoke mostly about school and going back and it was then I realized that I hadn't looked up my exam results for last semester. I'd meant to do it weeks ago, but just got side-tracked and forgot all about it.
After dinner, I logged into the college website. I goggled when I saw my results. I had a perfect 4.0. If I carried on like that, I would graduate summa cum laude which would look really good on my transcript. I doubted that I'd have a problem getting a job, if I decided to forego the FBI, but it was a matter of personal pride to do as well as I possibly could. I remembered my results for the first year. I had a solid 3.4 and was literally working my ass off. I grimaced once again. That amulet had a lot to answer for.
It was just after nine, and I noticed that Gracie had her head together with Amanda. As I looked across at them, they both looked at me and grinned. It was almost unnerving and I wondered what they were up to. Actually, that wasn't true...I guessed what they were up to but I wondered what exactly was going to happen.
I didn't have long to wait to find out.
Gracie stood up and wandered over in my direction. She held out her hand to me and, when I took it, tugged indicating I should get up.
I stood.