Alternate Purpose

Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Three days later, Devin sat in his bedroom. His parents wanted him to take it easy for another day before he returned to school.

The CAT scan showed blood in the abdomen, but no injuries to any internal organs, so they decided to keep him two days for observation, and then sent him home. The doctors who had treated him were all confused by what they were seeing. Devin had enjoyed listening to their theories, and in the end, they told him he’d been extremely fortunate.

Now he just sat on his bed, bored and thinking. He knew something was going on, but he didn’t feel comfortable telling anyone. What would they think? Would people become afraid? What if doctors wanted to study him? None of this made any sense.

There was a knock at the door, and Sawyer stepped into the room.

“Hey. Your dad said I should just come up. He thought you were resting.”

“Not really resting. Just bored. My parents think I need to rest, but I feel fine.”

Sawyer walked to the desk and pulled out the chair. He removed the stack of folded laundry from the chair and then sat. He caught sight of something bright red in the trash can, which lay between the bed and the desk, and realized that he was looking at several b****y tissues.

“Did you have a b****y nose?”

There was a long pause.

“No, not a b****y nose.”

Another pause.

“Can you keep a secret?” Devin asked.

“You know I can.” Sawyer looked offended.

Devin stared at his best friend for several seconds, deciding if he should give up his secret. Finally, he grabbed two tissues from the box on the table. He then reached under the blankets and withdrew the razor knife he’d concealed, when he’d heard someone at the door.

“Don’t say anything,” Devin said. “Just watch.” He slid the blade across the meaty part of his palm, creating a one-inch long incision.

“What are you doing!” Sawyer’s eyes grew wide.

Devin set the knife down and snatched up the tissues to catch the spilled blood before it fell. He didn’t want his mother finding blood on the bed.

“Just be quiet and watch,” Devin said firmly. He held the wound out so his friend could see.

In less than five seconds, the incision began closing. In just another five seconds, it disappeared completely. The only trace left was the drying blood on his skin.

“I don’t believe it. How did you do that?” Sawyer asked. The amazement was evident in his voice.

“I don’t know how or why. I first noticed it when I cut myself a few weeks ago. Before that, I don’t know. It seems like I heal quickly from minor injuries. But nothing like this, until recently.”

“So this is new?”

Devin thought for a moment. “When I was younger I needed stitches after a skateboard crash. A couple weeks later, they took the stitches out and the wound was still open a little. So I haven’t always been like this.”

“This is amazing. Do you feel different?”

“I don’t think so. I think I feel normal. Really, I’m just confused. We both know my leg was broken. I felt it and you saw it. By the time I woke up, it was completely fine. I just don’t know what to think.”

After a moment, Sawyer looked at his friend. “Do it again.”

“Do what?

“Your hand. Cut it again. Now that I know what to expect, I want to see it again.”

Devin grabbed the tissues and the knife and repeated his demonstration, going deeper and opening a longer incision this time. The outcome was the same. In less than five seconds, there was no trace of the wound.

“Amazing. Did it hurt?

“Sure, for a few seconds. It felt just like any cut you get. But then it stopped and I could feel it closing.”

“It’s like you’re immortal! That’s so awesome.”

“No, I’m not immortal. Remember how I was knocked out for a while. And you saw how messed up my leg was after the crash. The bones were broken for at least several minutes. If someone shot me in the head or heart, I’d be gone long before I had time to heal. I’m not some superhero. I just heal real fast” Devin explained. He wanted to calm Sawyer’s excitement. He may have shared the secret, but he still wanted to keep this strange situation quiet for now.

After a pause, Sawyer said, “Can you do anything else?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. Like, start fires with your mind, or move objects, or maybe even fly? Can you read minds?”

“I don’t know. I hadn’t thought about it. I guess I might be able to do other things.”

“Let’s try,” Sawyer said enthusiastically. “Can you tell me what I’m thinking?”

Devin looked his friend in the eyes, and after a minute said, “I’m not getting anything.”

“When you look in my eyes, what’s the first thing that you think I might be thinking about?”

Devin tried again. and said “Ice cream.”

“You did it! That’s what I was thinking.”

“Sawyer, that’s all you ever think about. You always want ice cream.”

“OK, try again. I’ll think something more random.”

Both boys tried for over half an hour, but were never able to reproduce the first lucky guess.

Devin shook his head. “I can’t read minds. This isn’t working.”

“OK, try moving something with your mind. Push that pencil off the edge of the desk.”

Devin gave his friend a doubtful look, then focused on the pencil. He closed his eyes and pushed with his mind, but nothing happened. He tried for several minutes before giving up.

“Sorry, buddy, but it looks like healing is all that I do.”

Sawyer nodded. “One last thing. Can you un-heal?”

“What is un-heal?”

“Well, if you can heal, can you do the opposite? Can you open a wound on yourself?”

“Why would I want to do that?”

“Just to see if you can.”

Devin looked at his friend for a few seconds and then nodded. He focused his attention on the meaty part of his forearm and the skin and underlying muscle split open. Both boys jumped up.

“I don’t believe it!” Sawyer said.

They watched as the wound closed up and disappeared.

“You actually did it! This is amazing.”

Devin looked at his arm and then at his friend. “I’m not sure what good that is. Batman is very strong. Superman can fly. Me—I can make myself bleed.”

“Have you told your parents about this yet?”

“No. I think they’ll freak out. I’m sure they wouldn’t agree to keep it a secret. They would want me to see a doctor to see if there’s something wrong, and I’m not ready for that yet. You can’t tell anyone, Sawyer.”

He nodded. “So now what?”

“What do you mean?”

“You have this gift… or ability. What are you going to do with it?”

Devin had been trying to find an answer to that question since he’d arrived home from the hospital.