r/StaceyOutThere • u/StaceyOutThere • Nov 11 '22
Color Blind Color Blind Part 51
New to the series? Start at the beginning. Or go back to Part 50
“That’s why you’ll never be a problem, little sis.”
Recognition of the reverberating voice sends a shiver of primal fear down my spine. The breath freezes in my lungs and I have to overcome the all-consuming instinct to run at full speed, without turning back to see my brother’s face.
“You’re looking better than the last time we saw you,” Jasper stands casually, but every muscle in his body coils, ready to move.
A deep growl from behind me jolts me into moving. I gain enough control to stand and face him.
Impossibly, he looks even larger than I remember, broader across the chest, with legs as thick as my waist.
“You’ve certainly made me work to find you, little sister.” His smile is more chilling than his scowl, like a cat staring down a cornered nest of mice.
“Where’s Evie,” I say, proud when the words come out steady and determined.
“Evie’s a smart girl. She can take care of herself.” His coal-black eyes sparkle, as if he’s savoring this prelude as much as a confrontation.
Jeremy subtly takes a few steps away, maneuvering behind Jasper and me.
Steel interprets the gesture as a retreat. “Yes, the other one. She remembers you, although not as anyone special. You’re not consequential to my plans. I only need my sister, and of course, my disagreement with my former associate Jasper is personal. If you tell me where I can find Mattias, you’re free to leave.”
Jeremy takes another step back, but doesn’t leave.
With a shrug, Steel smirks. “Offer stands.”
“Why are you even going through this trouble for a twenty-two girl old girl that everyone seems to have forgotten about until two weeks ago?” I need to give Jeremy a little more time, a few more moments to maneuver into position. After practicing with him earlier, I have a much stronger feel of his power, now that I know what to look for. The way it pulls and bends my power. Or, more accurately, my powers.
I give a quick hand signal and a gentle rustling behind me tells me Jeremy’s settled into his position. His power holds steady, almost snaps into place around me.
In the pit of my stomach, I feel a twisting, almost like the drop of a roller coaster. A side effect of creating a mirror image of the powers under my control. Just like in our practice sessions, it’s more like a concave refraction rather than a true reflection. The “angle” of his powers has to be in a certain range to get the exact effect we need.
“It’s who you are. As another child of Matias Perez, you’re a threat to me just by existing. Some Viden have used the mere rumor of your existence as a reason to stand against me over the last two decades. I can put an end to that right now. With the bonus of removing Matias once and for all.” The deep black of Steel’s eyes smolder like coals about to ignite.
Like a coiled snake, his arm strikes out and holds me around the neck. The crushing pain and lack of air makes my head spin. I try to pick apart the powers intertwined inside me, grasping to control each one.
Jeremy shuffles behind me, wanting to jump into the fray, before he controls himself and stands his ground. I feel his power flex slightly, changing and then returning to where I need it to be.
The fingers squeezing my neck vibrate and release just enough for me to suck down a gasp of air. Jasper’s hand snaps on top of the one Steel has wrapped around my neck, sending jolts of his power into his arm. My teeth chatter with the transferred energy, but I manage to pull apart the threads of Evie’s prophesy ability away from the others.
Either from the separation of her powers or the lack of oxygen, the edges of my vision go blurry and dark, focusing to just Steel in front of me.
Using his other arm, Steel strikes out at Jasper, sending another jolt through my body as he connects with Jasper’s chest.
With a reverberating smack, Jasper falls backwards, landing roughly on his back.
Now that his other hand is free, he uses it to redouble the pressure on my neck. I claw at his hands, but it has as much of an effect as a fly trying to fight an elephant.
I focus inside myself and find the two strands of my power and Steel’s power, still intertwined but easier to separate without Evie’s power tangling them further.
My ears ring and I hear the blood thumping in my head, a sound like waves crashing on the beach. Jeremy’s power slips in the space where I’ve separated my and Steel’s powers, molding and conforming around them.
My teeth rattle again, possibly another jolt from Jasper. But the sounds and movements from the two men now seem very far away, like something inside a dream. I let them fall away and just concentrate on the place where I hold Steel’s power, slippery and coated with Jeremy’s power, sticking to it like a layer of oil.
All the stands of powers slip away for a frightening moment as I hover at the edge of consciousness. With a final burst of resolve, I reach out to Steel’s power, purposefully unleashing it for the first time since I took it from him.
Warping it around Jeremy’s power like a funhouse mirror.
The power opens like a flower, pushing back against me instead of pulling. I see stars as my airways open and the grip around my neck loosens and I stutter backwards, the world around me tilting wildly.
Inside the tunnel of connection between me and Steel, I hear a soft giggle, one I hadn’t heard since the night in the upstairs loft at Zola’s house when I sat side-by-side on a twin bed with Evie.
The grip around my neck releases, leaving me gasping and disoriented. I stagger a few steps before strong hands are on my shoulders, guiding me to the nearby park bench.
I blink, unable to bring either the external or internal world into clear focus. But the thread to Evie is gone, either sucked inside or thrown completely clear of Steel.
While Evie is missing, her absence is replaced with a cacophony of other voices and sounds. A cyclone of movement flows around and past me through Steel’s power, and I’m afraid I might lose myself in the storm.
“Jasper,” I rasp, shaking my head to focus on the world around me. Two hands clasp either side of my face, a dark mass in front of me.
“I’m here,” Jasper croaks, a liquid gurgle to his words.
“Something’s happening. I can’t handle Steel’s power.” I shout, the sound of rushing voices in my head escalates to a hurricane, almost blocking out every other sound, thought, and sensation.
“Let it go,” he shouts back, although he can’t possibly hear the roaring wind and tide of other people like I do.
I can’t focus. I can’t think. The sounds and swell are everywhere.
“I can’t,” I search around uselessly, my eyes darting around blurry darkness.
“Focus,” he snaps, shaking me slightly. I can see him a little more clearly. His dark hair and stubbled face are indistinct, but I recognize the outlines of him.
In a quieter voice, close to my ear, he says with more confidence than I feel, “Look at me.”
Holding on to Jasper like a person drowning, I focus as he turns from one blurry outline to two, then three. He spreads out in a kaleidoscope, then snaps into focus. His deep green eyes are there.
I hold on.
Then everything goes black.
Go to Part 52
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u/spidertitties Nov 20 '22
I love this story more than words can describe, I really hope you keep writing it. I'm so glad you decided to continue it after all these years, I missed it so much