The tower : A New start

More To It

“Girl-lee, where are you? Come and Play-ay.” The Butcher called in his raspy voice. His large clammy hand latched on to her arm. She screamed and jerked away. “Wake up it's just a dream!” another voice intruded.

“Come on honey, wake up. It's only a dream.” Alex's urgent voice penetrated her nightmare. Sapphire jerked awake breathing hard and jumped at the sound of books hitting the floor, lounge, and desk around her.

“Wha-What happened?” she asked confused. She at looking around the room at the huge mess; it seemed every book was scattered about the room like someone had ransacked it.

Alex ran his had through his hair and glanced uncertainly around before looking at her once more, “You fell asleep while you were working. You must have been having a nightmare because you began screaming and suddenly things started flying around. On their own! I had to wake you in order to keep my head.” He sighed and shook his head still a bit shaken up.

Sapphire stared at him for a minute at what he'd just said sank in. “But that's not possible is it? Unless...” she broke off unable to finish a thought that seemed impossible crossed her mind. No one can move things with their mind can they? She thought.

“You heard the books fall didn't you? How do you think they got all over the place? It's possible and it's called telekinesis. A person can also be telekenetic too.” He explained.

Dear god, what am I going to do, she thought. The Idea of having that kind of power scared her. Just the damage that she could do if she wasn't careful and if someone found out she'd become a human lab rat, not her idea of fun. And where did this come from. She started shaking at the thought.

“Calm down, it'll be OK. You just need a little work on control. You aren't going to hurt anyone nor will you be a lab rat. We will work together.” Alex said reassuringly. He was cleaning up the books. She joined him picking up the books and putting them back on the shelves.

Once they had the library cleaned up, Alex took Sapphire by the hand and had her sit down at her desk again. He had place a candle on the desk in a candle holder. “I've something to show you.” He said then sat in front of her and gazed at the candle. Suddenly, the candle lit and the flame danced from their breath.

“You did that?” she asked amazed. She picked up the candle and examined it. It was just a regular candle. Nothing but wax and wick. Alex watched as she examined it knowing she had to make the connection herself. “You're pyrokenetic.” she said looking at him again.

Alex smiled, “I am. Was terrifying when I first discovered what I could do. I was only nine. I got angry with my older brother for one of his stupid pranks and lit a pile of rags in the corner of the garage on fire. Luckily, we got it put out before our parents got home and we never spoke of it again. After that I sat in my room lighting and extinguishing a candle with only my mind. I wanted to control it because I was terrified I'd burn the house down or the school or some other place where people could get hurt if I got angry enough. The point is it is possible and you can learn to control it with practice. We will work together.

I call it training our gift. There are very few people out there with our gifts. I've learned that we are known amongst our own as Celestials. In other cultures and in the past we were often referred to as elves, dwarves, faries, wizards, and other mystical creatures and we have been feared for centuries. Mostly because there are those amongst us who abuse their gifts, using them for their own gain and to cause harm to others. While the things we can do may seem magical they are not. We don't need magic words or wands or other tools to use them. Nor do we need training to gain the ability to use them, we are born with our abilities and they reveal themselves when they are needed most. What we do need is training to learn to use them properly so we can control them and won't harm others.”

Sapphire sat quietly for awhile, “Soo, we're not human or are we?” Confusion filled her face.

Alex said, “I wondered the same thing when I first learned about Celestials. We are human, but not. Our gifts are only a small part of what makes us different. We age differently than normal humans. At a hundred years of age, Celestials are like normal people in their thirties. This makes it hard to settle in one place for long because people tend to notice when your like sixty and you look like you are in your teens yet. See Celestials can live for hundreds of years and many have.” Sapphire was now looking at him incredulously, “Yes, we can die. We can be mortally wounded like you were. Burning, beheading, stabbing, and shooting us will kill us, however it takes a lot of damage before death occurs unless your beheaded of course. But, we have abnormally strong immune systems so we rarely get sick, not even from the most well known diseases like cancer.

Another thing you've probably learned by now is that our bodies tolerate the modern processed foods, but we are made to eat natural food unprocessed. We will garner more nutrients from fresh caught meat and fresh grown vegetables, fruit and grain. Celestials are also very intelligent and curious individuals, known to study everything they can.”

He stood up and paced the room. Then faced her again, “When a Celestial is born to a normal human family like you and I, they are raised entirely human with no knowledge of our heritage and as you can attest to when their abilities come forth it can be both terrifying and confusing. Then if your family doesn't decide you are crazy and lock you up, you end up searching for answers. If you're lucky you'll find a celestial willing to teach you about your heritage and help you learn to use and control your abilities. There are laws all Celestials are honor bound to obey whether or not they are born to human families. The first law is never to use your ablilties to cause harm or for personal gain. Law number two: Never reveal the existence of Celestials to a normal human. They are not very accepting of anything or anyone different and have tendencies to destroy what they don't understand. And law three: Always exhibit complete control of your abilities one mistake is all it takes to have normals wage war against us.”

“Soo, in other words don't harm others, keep your mouth shut, and use control.” Sapphire mused getting the gist of the laws, “We can live for a long time, don't get sick, and can be killed and really shouldn't eat processed foods.” She drummed her fingers on her desk as she processed the information he'd just given her. She c****d her head at Alex for a moment. “So, if we age differently and don't look our age you must be....” She paused.

Alex laughed, “I'm twenty nine still a child according to the ancients of our people and we seem to age normally until the age of nineteen when our aging process seems to slow down. It hard to explain.”

“That's why everyone mistakes me for like sixteen even though I'm 24. Interesting.” She said, “so I'm guessing those born into Celestial families are taught all this as they grow up. Man I feel left out.”

Alex grinned, “I feel you, there, it took me three years to find another Celestial who would even talk to me let alone help me learn what I need to know. He only gave me the basics over two years and then I was on my own. I had to search until I discovered the proper places and websites to get further information.”

“So, at what age do they consider us mature adults?” she asked out of curiosity.

“Fifty to Sixty depending on where you are from.” He answered, “That is when most Celestials have full control of their abilities and understand the laws we have and the dangers we face in this new world.”

“I can see what you mean what with all the video camera's, and cell phones out there. I mean how do you explain objects randomly moving on their own or sudden fires breaking out for example. I'm having the feeling Celestials can do more than just start fires and move objects. Things that would be even harder to explain.” Sapphire said.

“Yes, there's more. Some can heal with a touch, others can summon storms and control weather, then there are those that can encourage plant growth and communicate with animals. That's just a few things. Also all Celestials are very strong and agile, which is why you see so many gymnasts and acrobats around. Many of them are probably Celestials.” Alex explained.

“Wow, I have a lot to learn.” Sapphire sighed obviously overwhelmed.

“I understand and I figure we can learn together. I have something else to tell you so I don't get my head taken off with your weights and other work out gear for scaring you. I have unlocked the door that leads to the tower so I can get down here fast in case something happens. Like a fire or storm.” he said.

Sapphire nodded, “Thanks for telling me. You do have a security system, don't you?”

“Yes, like you I'm big on security.” he answered.

Sapphire nodded, “Good. I'm starving. Let's grab some lunch and we can talk some more.” She stood up and stretched her muscles, “I need to move around some.”

“Sounds good. I've also got a lot of information I've gathered we can share.” He offered as they headed to the door.

“I'd like that.” she said with a smile.

They headed down the hall to the kitchen and were almost there when they heard a loud thud that sounded like it came from the front of the house. Both froze and turned around together to face the front. “That had better be a package.” Sapphire said nervously and followed Alex to the front door.

After turning off the security and unlocking the door, they opened it together and peered out. A large box sat on the porch on top of which sat a bouquet of flowers. Alex wrestled the large box in the door, they then locked up and turned the security system back on.

He handed her the flowers while he opened the box. Suddenly, Sapphire gasped and dropped the flowers. She Shook her head, “Don't open it!” she said her voice trembling. Alex turned around to see her even paler than normal and abolutely terrified a small card in her hand. He took the card and glanced at it. It read:

Julie,

A token for you to remind you of our coming date.

The Butcher

Alex stared at the note for what seemed like forever. He knew this Butcher ,had come up against him sometime ago and had left the force because of him. Anger boiled in his blood making him see red. This was the b*****d who was terrorizing her, had terrorized this town. He'd already claimed so many souls. He was not claiming any more.

Sapphire shook her head again, still trembling as Alex opened the box. Suddenly he jumped back cursing. Inside the box was a mannequin in pieces each piece labled as if they were cuts of beef. Rump roast, arm roast, steaks, hamburger, ect. Gah, the man is mad, Alex thought as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and called the police. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sapphire talking animatedly on her phone, probably to those two Marshals. He didn't trust them either to tell the truth, there's something about them he just didn't like. Especially Mace. He just seemed off somehow, too watchful.

“The Marshals are on their way.” Sapphire said, “They are talking about moving me.”

Alex spun to face her in surprise. That wasn't going to happen, he thought, they couldn't keep her safe, only he could. He had been the only other person besides Sapphire who come up against The Butcher and lived. He knew him, had studied him. While working as a day trader, he'd stayed hidden and studied The Butcher. All the case files from here and all the new information given by the newspapers and friends he'd gained in the two years he'd been waiting. There was no one who knew more than he did.

“Sapphire, it's going to be alright. No one is going to hurt you. Moving you is too dangerous.” The vernerable Marshals should realize that by moving her it'll award The Butcher the opportunity to grab her and do God knows what he would do to her before anyone could stop him.

Sapphire looked into Alex's eyes and there she saw only resolve, raw determination. She realized he knew more than he was telling her. She could only hope he was right. “What do you mean too dangerous.”

“He cannot get into this place. If he could he would have. If this...” Alex indicated the objects, “is really from him.”

Sapphire was quiet mulling over what Alex just said. They were interrupted by the sounds of vehicles outside. A glance in the moniters of the security camera revealed it was the police followed closely by the US Marshals. She opened the door after shutting off the security system and unlocking the door.

They entered as a group. For what seemed like hours the police asked questions took fingerprints of both Sapphire and Alex and thouroughly fingerprinting the box, note, and bouquet then took everything for evidence. When the police were gone and everything once again secure, the Marshalls turned to Saphire.

“Get some things together, we need to get moving Sapphire.” Mace said studying her pale face. Alex stepped between them a thunderous expression on his handsome face.

“No.” He snapped, “She is safer here.”

Deacon and Mace stared him down. “What do you know of this matter?” Deacon asked angrily.

“More than you realise and if he was going to harm her he would have done so by now.”Alex stated with a calm he wasn't feeling, “The Butcher doesn't usually romance his victims does he.”

Sapphire straightened and glared at Alex a flushed filled her cheeks as anger flashed in her eyes, “If that's romancing, I'm the queen of egypt. That is a deliberately cruel prank if I ever saw one and The Butcher is not prone to such things. He just invades your home and does what he wants. Tortures, destroys, whatever suits his mood.” She said bitterly.

That's better than the paller and fear that was there before, he thought, even if she was angry with him. He turned his attentions back to the two men also glaring at him. It was time to reveal some of his secrets. “I was a police officer a few years back. One night on patrol I heard a woman's screams, I went to investigate. Before I did so I called for back up since we had a serial killer on the loose here it was required as were the extra patrols.”

“I traced the screams to a small apartment and inside I found a young woman tied to a table and a man dressed as a Butcher cutting tiny slices up her legs and rubbing spices into those cuts. I intervened and managed to save her. At great risk to myself, in the fight he cut me up pretty badly leaving his prized blade in my chest. By the time my back up arrived I was barely alive. The girl was lucky her wounds were superficial. The reason I quit the force was the one thing he said before he fled. He looked at me and said one day you will stop me. I'll stop only when we meet again until then you'll hear the screams of those I take. “ Alex removed his shirt revealing the scars staring at the other three pointedly, “I've been studying The Butcher since. What files the department had here and what I could gather from other sources. No one knows more than I do and like her I've never been the same.” Alex opened the tower door and retrieved a folder. He brought it to the two men. They looked throught the file. Mace glanced at Alex. Deacon read.

“how do you know about her? That she was attacked by The Butcher? That she is here for her saftey?” Deacon asked not one to be fooled.

Alex took a breath the moment of truth. “Have you heard of telepathy?” he asked waiting for their reaction. He expected laughter, but Deacon simply stared at him and Mace straightened.

“What do you know about it?” he asked warily.

“Everything there is to know.” Alex said but not aloud. Maces eyes widened in surprise.

“Come we need to get her out of here if he does decide to come back she won't stand a chance.” Deacon said setting the folder down.

“Wait,” Mace said, “Let's hear him out.”

Deacon sighed heavily, “You don't really believe that bunk about telepathy do you?

Mace looked at Deacon and answered without speaking, “ I do.”

Deacon paled and gaped. “Holy s**t.”

“yeah, you could say that.” Alex agreed then glanced at Deacon, “Suffice it to say somehow when he attacked her, we made a connection. I witnessed everything he did via that connection. That's how I know. I haven't told anyone because as you know that could get her killed.”

“ Hey!” Sapphire snapped once again upset, “Don't I get a choice here? It is my life after all.”

The three men all turned to look at her. She continued, “I'm tired of running. If he's going to kill me then he will, but I want to stay here. It's not like he won't eventually find me. Shouldn't we take a stand here, now? I can't let him run my life, not anymore. And before you say anything, Yes I'm terrified. Anyone in his or her right mind would be, but that's no excuse. If I've learned anything from all of this, it's that you can't run from your problems.”

They gaped at her for a moment. Alex moved first. He took her hand and looked into her eyes, “You sure about this.”

She nodded and glanced at Deacon and Mace.

“Well then, we've got a lot to do.” Deacon said.

Mace looked at Alex, “Don't think I trust you, yet. If anything happens to her I'll bury you. Understand?” Alex regarded him briefly and nodded. The four of them gathered in Sapphire's library in their own council of war. Sapphire hoped that their plan would work, but they wouldn't know until it came to fruit.