Stranded in Thoughts

Chapter 15—The Thinkers

“Lucky Kid, do it now!”

The experience was like a rodeo. I was riding this crazily strong, rhino-looking beast for almost five minutes straight while it kept on swaying sideways and jumping up and down, or sometimes, if my senses served me right, a mixture of the two. I was able to keep a firm grip of its horn and it was dashing straight to Chevonne’s way, who somehow lured it to go inside Lucky Kid’s thought, then—BANG!

Before I’d expose what happened next, let me first go back in time.

Right after the giant incident, we moved to somewhere else and stayed for the night. We woke up early and Chevonne was keeping an eye on Lucky Kid who might escape. I got the gist of what was happening and a little bit about the thinker thingy, but I still couldn’t understand why it was happening to me. I mean, I was not a special person to obtain such an extravaganza.

Along our stroll, we heard a strange sound that brought us down to our knees. We hid behind a shrub of berries. Lucky Kid picked and ate some, which we never cared about. After discovering what he could do, I backpedaled a little bit at scolding him because I might be the one in actual danger.

Now, Chevonne mentioned that I was also a potential thinker, but still a diamond in rough. She called me a pothink, which was just a shortened version of “potential thinker”, which meant that I didn’t have complete control of my power yet.

Anyway, we pried a gap in the bush and observed the creature that was grazing on the grass. It didn’t surprise me anymore because I already assumed that everything on this island was far from normal. Chevonne had mentioned that we were in a realm—a fixed thought that couldn’t be removed once initiated. I didn’t fully understand it, and I didn’t care anymore. What I could get from it was that this island might not be Bantayan at all.

The creature had been groaning while nibbling some grasses, which we found strange. We tried to jump from bush to bush until we got closer and had an unimpeded view of the strange animal. It had a lot of small horns around its body, but the main one that was on its forehead was extremely prominent: it was pinkish-red and had carvings on it where human hands could fit. It was like a hand rest. Was it domesticated? Seemed like someone owned the beast. The saddle that caught my eye confirmed it. But where was the owner?

Chevonne gestured for me to observe what she was going to do. She grabbed Lucky Kid aside and whispered something to him. He nodded vigorously, afraid of disobeying her, and went out of the bush. I croaked for him to come back, but he was already set on what he was about to do and didn’t have any plans of backing out.

He charged and spanked the creature on the butt. At first, it didn’t budge. But when he picked up a rock and hurtled it toward its head, I looked down and winced to what was about to happen. The creature let out a deafening roar. Lucky Kid was already in a stance just like what he did to the giant incident the moment I looked up.

A susurrus beside me caught my attention. Chevonne stood and the same force field shot out from her temple, which was called a thought per her lecture.

The rhino-looking beast was enveloped by it. Chevonne looked my way and whispered, “Watch and learn.”

Lucky Kid touched the beast again. He retreated and crouched beside me. Chevonne started tickling him, and he started laughing and rolling on the grass. I found everything weird when suddenly the beast rolled over the grass as well. It let out some strange noises that could resemble a laugh or a chortle. I looked at it for a little longer to figure out what was happening. It hit me the moment Chevonne tickled Lucky Kid once again, making the beast laugh for the second time.

Now I got it.

I was not that dumb not to get what she was trying to demonstrate. That was why she called herself a linker because she somewhat linked Lucky Kid to the rhino-looking beast. If my guess was right, whatever Chevonne would do to him would also affect it.

“I get it now.”

“You’re not a c*m laude for nothing. That spares me a lot of explaining,” she croaked.

“I have a question, though.”

She stopped tickling Lucky Kid and gave me a straight face. “Go on.”

“To what extent is that creature affected by what you’re doing?”

 She smiled at me and helped Lucky Kid on his feet, who was rolling over the grass, now stifling his laughter. “A linker could link up to three living creatures within his or her thought. There are some rare cases wherein some elite linkers have tried linking up to five, but it’s taxing for them. Also, there’s one known individual who managed to link up to ten, but the credibility of the story is questionable on itself, so hardly anyone believed it.

“Anyway, when I link someone, anything that will happen to me will be afflicted on the linked inside my thought. The first linked will receive a hundred percent infliction, the second is eighty, and the third is sixty. However, if the first linked will be the one to receive any infliction, then the second linked receives the hundred percent, and the third receives eighty. Same goes for the second linked, if he or she receives the infliction, the third will receive the hundred percent, leaving the first linked unharmed. And the cycle goes on.”

“So, if the second linked receives the infliction, you and the first linked will receive no damage?” I clarified.

“That’s right.”

“And the third, the last linked, solely receives the infliction since there’s no other living creature linked after him or her?”

“You’re really quick on the uptake.”

“And how do you link someone?”

“When I initiate a thought, I just touch any living creature inside it.”

“When did you ever link Lucky Kid? And that beast? I didn’t see you shot out a force field from your temple until a minute ago.”

“During the time I grabbed his collar. Since you’re still a pothink, you can’t fully perceive a thought yet. Unless, you are really focused, just like when Finlay silenced the giant, and also earlier. Since he has been linked already, any living creature that he touches inside my thought will be linked as well.”

“Normal humans can’t perceive a thought?”

“Yes. And, about Finlay, since he was already linked, he can’t really do much about our situation. Even if he wants to kill me, he will just basically be committing suicide. The linked individuals will always be linked, and it can’t be undone even outside a linker’s thought unless the linker cancels it.”

Now, that was some nasty power there. “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you this. I hope you will be able to answer me since I already know a lot at this time. What were you doing on the rooftop of the school yesterday?”

A smirk crossed her face. It took a couple more seconds before she finally asked, “Do you play Dota? Or any MOBA games?”

The vague and sudden change of questioning got me thinking if she was still keeping it from me. “Yes, I do. Why?”

“You know what’s a passive skill, right? In a linker’s case, either of his or her parents is the buddy. It’s just basically a special linked individual that can’t be removed till death. The two individuals share a unique ability called telepathy. Wherever they are in the world, the linker can communicate to his or her buddy at the expense of being completely isolated and enveloped in thought. It can’t be done the other way around. Meaning, the linker is the only one who can initiate the telepathy. It’s taxing.”

That was why she was drenched in sweat during that time. “So you’re trying to communicate with your buddy yesterday?”

“Yep. In my case, it’s my father.”

The word “father” brought me back to my parents. I missed them. So much. And Vincent. I wondered what they were doing right now. I hoped they were doing well.

I was about to ask her what they talked about when a deafening roar rang our ears. The beast had found our spot. It started to scratch the ground with its right hoof, like how a bull would do when it was about to charge. 

Then off it went.

I pushed the two out of the way. The beast rammed me against the hairy trunk of a cocohair tree. I kept a hold of its horn, but it swiveled up and in one swift motion slammed me on the ground. It stunned me momentarily, and then I dodged the stomp that followed, which I barely evaded. I kept my distance from it while I coughed up blood on my palms. s**t, it surely got me.

The beast stopped for a while, then rolled on the grass once again. I looked over at Chevonne who kept on tickling Lucky Kid. I gave her a thumbs-up.

Without a concrete plan on what to do, I climbed up a cocohair tree and dangled from one of its leaves. Luckily, it was strong enough to keep me from falling. I shouted at them to stop what they were doing before the beast would find their location.

Chevonne, watch me. From now on, I’d be worthy of becoming your protector.

I jumped off and landed on the beast’s back.

† † †

Lucky Kid managed to silence the beast and it evaporated to mist. I fell to the ground and coughed up blood once more.

“Josh, are you okay?” Chevonne crouched beside me, extending a hand. She didn’t know that I had coughed up blood. I wiped my blood-stained right palm on the ground.

I joyfully grabbed her hand and dusted myself off. “Yes, I’m good. Thank you.”

“No, thank God.  And also, thank you for bravely luring that beast to Finlay.”

“Weren’t you the one who did it?”

“Did what?”

“Never mind. Anyway, since Lucky Kid was able to silence the beast, does it mean that it was a product of a thought?”

She gave me an approving smile. “I like how you quickly get things.”

And I hoped that you’d like me, too. “It’s a no-brainer after knowing the premises of a thought.”

“Maybe you’re just too smart to begin with.”

“Not really. Anyway, since the beast was a product of a thought, a thinker might have summoned it, right?”

Here, she retracted her smile and turned her gaze to the sky. “You know what’s a realm? The one I’ve told you.”

“Do you mean the meaning of it? Yes, I do. A realm is a p—”

“No, no. Not the English definition, though it still has some sense in it. The word ‘realm’ is used differently in the context of thinkers. First of all, I need you to fully understand what makes a thinker.”

Her initiative to share more information got me serious. “Okay.”

“Let’s find a place to sit and relax.”

We found a small meadow with a lake in the middle and surrounded by cocohair trees. Lucky Kid hopped on a hillside and rolled over the gentle grass. We followed suit and settled ourselves some meters away, keeping in mind not to lose an eye on him. I closed my eyes and imagined the trees and winds frolicking in the atmosphere. The serene and peaceful ambiance relaxed me more than I thought it could do after all the things that had transpired.

She broke it off first, “How are you feeling so far? I know it’s still shocking to digest all of these in s—”

“No, don’t worry. I’m fine.” I gave her a smile that assured her my mental stability. True, it was not something that someone could just believe, but there was no time for me to exaggerate and pretend as if I was just dreaming. This was not something out of mangas nor some cliché, bullshit dramas.

“Alright. Would you mind trying it one more time?” she asked.

“Try what?”

“Your power. You might be able to activate it this time after what you’ve learned. However, limit your thinking in transforming an object to something else. Let’s start with that pebble there.” She pointed behind me. I picked it up. “Now, since you’re still a pothink, you need to focus more. Close your eyes and try to transform it into something that you can vividly think of. The atmosphere will surely help you in focusing.”

I gave it a try and imagined a Sampaguita in my head. I felt lightheaded and the fatigue never bothered me anymore. Well, that was what I thought at first. It lasted for just some seconds. I opened my eyes and found out that the pebble was gone: it was replaced by a beautiful flower.

“Oh, my god... did I just...” I broke off. But it went back to a pebble in just a matter of seconds.

She gave me another heart-wrenching smile. “Seems like you surpassed the ten percent limitation of your brain.”

“What do you mean?”

“Normal human beings can only manifest and make use of the ten percent of their brains. However, if a person managed to surpass and make it, say, just fifteen percent, that person is now considered a thinker. You might have heard stories about people having some crazy powers like controlling objects or producing electricity or walking on the surface of water before.  Those people are thinkers. Just like in your case. There’s a special thinker who’s the only one that can gauge and classify someone’s thought, called a teacher, but based on what you’ve just done, I think you’re a morpher.”

“So, by the word itself, and evidently, I can transfigure things, right?”

“Right. Within your thought. You know, the sphere thingy. The one you always called a force field.”

“I’m actually wondering about that. What’s the purpose of that force field in the first place? Is that some special effect that indicates someone is about to use his or her power?”

“There’s one confusing term that you need to know. Both the sphere thingy and a thinker’s power are called thought. The sphere is the area of limitation. Anything or anyone outside of it will not be affected by the thinker’s power. Also, the size of it varies per thinker.”

“But I didn’t shoot out a thought when I morphed the pebble.”

“Nope, you did. You just didn’t see it since your eyes were closed. Anyway, someone who has a great focus can easily perceive a thought, and it would greatly help, especially when a thinker is against another thinker. Look, try morphing the pebble again.”

I did and I saw my thought now. She grabbed the flower and went to the edge of my thought. The moment she went past it, the pebble reverted to a pebble.

“See?” she said after she had returned. “Now, morph it again.”

I complied. She told me to undo my thought by not thinking of anything at all. I did and my thought was canceled. The flower reverted to a pebble again.

I sighed deeply, “So, I’m really a morpher, huh?”

Everything that happened during my seventeenth birthday now made sense.

“Well, about that, I’m not quite sure yet.”

I raised my brows. “I might have been repeating the same question over and over, but again, what do you mean?”

“As I’ve said, only a teacher can gauge and classify your thought. There’s a spectrum of thoughts a thinker can be classified into, and a morpher is just one of many. There are some rare cases wherein a thinker undergoes reclassification, and you might be classified into another thought for all I know. In short, it’s all up to the teacher, and,” she paused to sneeze, then continued, “the spectrum has been categorized into three margins. Green, Orange, and Red.”

“Like a traffic light? Is green related to something good while red to something bad?”

“Maybe, but to clarify, the thoughts in the green margin have a large range of thoughts, and thinkers who belonged to this margin can’t be classified nor gauged by a teacher. There are only two thoughts in this category, and they are the greatest of all thoughts. On the other hand, the red margin thoughts are those that can directly hurt someone. They can even kill.”

“How about the orange?”

She gave herself some time to think. “Well, I’m not sure with the orange margin yet. However, based on what I’ve learned, thoughts belonging to it are generally classified as supports: it can’t directly hurt someone. Now, it might have gotten you thinking it’s something safe, but thinkers in orange margin can still hurt someone indirectly. Also, the sphere of influence, the thought, does not apply all the time. Just like in my case, the linked ones are always linked even if they are outside my thought. That’s why I’m still kind of confused about it.”

“So, you’re in the orange margin?”

“Yes. If you’re really a morpher, then we would be the same.”

The idea of belonging to the same margin of thoughts as hers got my heart beating fast.

We talked a lot more about thinkers and ourselves for a couple more minutes. The conversation went on smoothly and I was once again rebuilding the relationship that I wanted. Amidst our talk, Chevonne bolted up and examined the area.

“Finlay’s gone.”

I did the same and deliberately checked the area for tracks that he might have left. Nothing.

I’d make sure to give that brat a scolding after finding him. Enemy or not, he was still my student.

Chevonne was about to hurt herself when I stopped her. I told her that we should try to find him first.

“Let’s go through that rocky course,” I said.

We found a stream and scooped some handfuls of water to drink. We walked for another minute and found some berries and apples to eat. I was once again having a blissful walk with Chevonne, and this time, just the two of us.

Thinker or not, my wish had surely been granted.

Just then, a memory struck me. “Hey, weren’t you trying to explain to me what a realm is?”

Her eyes widened, indicating that she forgot. “Oh, right. Sorry.”

“Since you call it a realm, is it something that relates to a place? A territory?”

“Remember that a person can only be called a thinker if he or she surpasses the ten percent limitation? The two thoughts that belonged to the green margin are crazily magnificent because there are only a select few thinkers who belonged to it.”

“What do you m—”

“The first one is a teacher. It’s the only thinker who I’ve told you can gauge and classify another thinker. There are only eleven known teachers around the world. One of them is Finlay’s mother as what father told me.

“The second one is considered as the strongest of all thinkers.  His or her thought can only be inherited or transferred. There are only four of them around the world.”

“Are you saying that you know one of them?”

“Yes. And we are surely in his thought since yesterday.”

“Whut?”

“Remember the rhino-looking beast? Why do you think Finlay was able to silence it?”

“Isn’t it because it was a product of a thou—” I stopped both in my speech and tracks. Everything that Chevonne had been trying to explain made some sense now. I had connected the dots. “Don’t tell me we are in a thought all this time?”

“Yes, Josh. This whole island is inside a thought. I believe this is Bantayan, but something happened here that was kept from the outside world. Only a creator can do such a thing and make this massive of a thought, controlling everything inside it—including creating. One of which, for certain, is the rhino beast.”