Mentally - 3. Back to Start

It’s been a week since mom, and I had settled back in Chicago. And I was finally reunited with my friends. School has started, and as expected, I didn’t have to repeat a whole year due to my long absence. Coping with the lessons was an easy task for me. And it still gave me more than enough time to check out other things.

But this time, there was an unusual addition. Aiden Cedric.

That boy was beyond beautiful. He had the same steel-gray eyes as Damian. The same dark hair as him. The same pinkish lips and angelic face. An innocent smile and long eyelashes like that of a girl. Which I also have, by the way. Aiden looked like an angel. The difference was that Damian’s hair was kept short and brushed back. A bit of a Pompadour.

Meanwhile, Aiden’s hair was neat and slicked back. And both of them had that strong personality that radiated all over. But Aiden had a more laid-back and spoiled brat presence.

“Colin, what do you think of him?” I asked my friend. We were in the cafeteria and were eating during our lunchtime. Colin and I just took a table for ourselves while we waited for our other set of friends. Aiden, on the other hand, was alone at the far end of the room. “He seems to be the silent type and wouldn’t talk much. That boy is in most of my classes. But I can’t seem to draw much from him.”

“What do I think of him? He smells like a snotty-nosed brat. I’m not really sure if I’ll be able to make friends with a person like that.” Colin replied. Then brushed away his auburn hair because it was getting too long already. His sky blue eyes were emphasized by his hair color. “That person seems to be from one of those private schools for rich people. Plus, what do you mean by you can’t draw much from him? The way he looks. The way he walks. And maybe even the way he jacks his dick off. It all says that he’s from a rich family. So obviously, he doesn’t belong here.”

“Yeah. Neither do I. But mom and I still decided to live a simpler life. And that wasn’t my point, Colin. My ability isn’t working on him.” I retorted. Colin knew I was a Mental before I even left Chicago the first time. And he was cool with it. Besides, there were a lot of kids in school that were also Mentals. “That boy can resist whenever I try to probe his mind. And it’s irritating.”

“So? Stop obsessing over it. And stop looking at him, for crying out loud. You look like a deranged stalker.” Colin scoffed. His eyebrows were already showing he was annoyed. “Wait. Are you not trying to read his mind? Are you? Why on earth would you do that?”

“There’s something different about him, Colin.” I explained. “I know. I could feel it. He’s different from the other kids.”

“No. He’s not.” Colin scratched his head. “So stop it. Please.”

“No.” I responded. As stubborn as I may sound, my instincts were right. This boy is different. And I am not going to easily let myself be shaken off. “Aiden is a Mental just like me. The fact that he can resist my ability to read his mind shows he must surely be your not-so-average Mental. I know because I have been doing my research lately.”

“Okay.” Colin snapped. “But why are you obsessing over this one single kid? You could have been reading another person’s mind. Why him? Why Aiden?”

“Because he reminds me a lot of the time when Damian and I first met.” I admitted. Then looked away at Aiden. It was already a good thing he was looking on the other side. Otherwise, he would have noticed me. Plus, I shouldn’t press my luck. He must have seen an invisible force that was trying to go past his defenses. “They’re different. But they are both similar at the same time. It’s confusing. I don’t, and I can’t understand a bit of it. That’s why I am so obsessed with figuring it out!”

“Kieran.” Colin said. Almost in a whisper. His eyes went from being too hyper to being sensitive and sincere. “You miss him that badly, don’t you?”

I just stared at him. It was a stupid question. Of course, I missed Damian. It’s been 3 years already, and never have I heard from him since. A tear almost escaped my eye. I took it in. But I was sure Colin caught that. He then put a hand on my shoulder and rubbed it.

“We’ll look for him.” He added. “I’m sure there was some logical reason why he had to go MIA without a word. Just don’t focus too much on Aiden. He might think we’re weird or something.”

But I had already decided. I stood up and walked in Aiden’s direction. Colin was surprised and wasn’t even able to move. He just gawked at how I approached the dark-haired boy. Aiden, on the other hand, just looked at me, barely with any interest. The boy was indeed snotty and snob, just as Colin had described him.

“Hey.” I started. “My name is Kieran. What’s yours?”

“My name is Aiden Christen-er, I mean, it’s Aiden Cedric. But I guess you could call me Aiden.” He replied. I presented my hand for a shake which he reluctantly took. His eyes were piqued with interest towards my gesture. The slick back hair. Those gray eyes were studying my movements. He was an educated person with the way he observed me. Calculating what I would do. “I’m sorry. But I’m not really sure what pushed you to talk to me.”

“Nothing really.” I lied. Colin then followed closely and sat at the table with us. Aiden just raised his brow. “This is Colin, by the way. He and I have gone a long way.”

The two shook hands. But no interest could be seen in his eyes. It would seem that he would have just wanted to stay away from everyone. Colin just continued on taking a bite off his sandwich. He was obviously uncomfortable with what I did. However, I felt that something needed to happen. It was some sort of instinctive push. No logical reason behind it. Just an impulse I couldn’t resist.

“So anyway, I just noticed that you had no one around.” I proceeded on with my plan. He just listened but not with so much intent. It actually felt like that he was bored. No concern with what I wanted to talk about. I knew he felt it. But there was just no enthusiasm for him to go for it. “Colin and I just thought that you might need a friend. Or at least someone to talk to.”

Then he looked straight to my eyes. With those silvery-gray eyes that was cold and dry. As if he was an emotionless robot. I tried to push further to his mind. But he was pushing back. There was definitely an invisible battle going on between us. “I see. You didn’t need to do that for me. I can handle things on my own. And I prefer to stay that way.”

“Of course you can. You’re a powerful Mental.” I replied, dropping the bomb. Colin almost choked with how I handled it. Aiden didn’t seem to be surprised. “And I thought we should at least stick together.”

“So you’re the anonymous stalker that has been trying to push into my head. Neat trick. Indeed, I’m not your ordinary mental. And I already told you that I could handle things on my own and prefer to be that way.” He suddenly used his ability to control the fork he was using and pointed it at me. It was hovering just a bit over the table but low enough so that no one else would notice it. Colin’s eyes widened with the rising tension between Aiden and me. “You’re direct to the point. So I’ll be too. And here’s my two cents: Stay. Away. From. Me.”

“I’m just being friendly.” I muttered coldly. But I used my ability and bent the fork and rolled it into a small ball of junk. Aiden’s brow was raised with attention. I didn’t think he saw that coming. “But you might want to have other Mentals as friends just in case. I could feel that we’re both in a situation we didn’t really wish for.”

Aiden just stared at Colin. And the latter just shook his head. “Nope. I’m not a Mental. This boy is a normal human being.”

“Okay.” Aiden gave up, and the tension on his shoulders became a bit more relaxed. The hovering ball of crushed metal fork slowly dropped on the table. He then used his ability, stretched it back to its normal state, and then continued eating his lunch. “You got me. What do you want?”

“Nothing really.” I admitted. He seemed to be able to be reasonable for a moment. But it was only at that moment. “You just happened to be someone whom I could relate to.”

“Is your reason really that shallow?” He quipped. The way he said it was irritating. And I was barely holding myself. Otherwise, chairs and tables might be flying all over the place. “For you to approach a stranger who has nothing to do with you. And out of your impulse, I might add.”

“Fine. You remind me of someone I’m really close to.” I bluntly replied. His stare was unmoving towards me. His eyes were filled with boredom and disgust. And I was giving away my own cards.

“Then that means you really have no business with me.” He snapped. I could feel his psychic energy gathering all around us. Aiden wasn’t afraid to pull out an all-out fight with me. “So get away from me before this turns ugly. I don’t want trouble, and neither would you.”

“What is it with you?!” I hissed. My fist was already clenched under the table. This boy was provoking me to my limits. “Are you that much of an anti-social?”

“I’m going now.” Colin interrupted. I’m sure he also felt the energy that was hovering around the table. He took his tray along with his food that was still unfinished. “This is getting too tense for me. I’ll leave the both of you mentally retarded boys there for now. Just catch up with me to class, Kieran.”

Aiden and I started a stare-down contest. But neither was winning or losing. Our energy was battling each other, but no one was noticing it. A little more tension and food might start to fly off everywhere at the cafeteria.

“Aiden, I just want you to be a friend.” I stated. This time my voice was calm. I was slowly breathing. Conquering my inner turmoil towards this kid. “There is nothing more than to it.”

“Is that really your reason?” He kept on contesting with what I wanted to happen. My plan was obviously in pieces. I didn’t expect him to be this much of a brat. “Or do you just want someone who can somehow replace your dead friend? The world is cruel, Kieran. I know that, but you just can’t have things just because you want them. You have to fight for it.”

“My friend isn’t dead.” I gritted my teeth. “And I’m not trying to replace him. You can never ever replace him. It’s just...you’re special.”

“Everyone is special.” He replied. The tension was dropping. But Aiden hasn’t totally dropped all of it. “That’s why I prefer to stay in the background. All of the people around you are unique. And they’re so unique that unique is what you consider normal.”

“Good point.” I said. Then I retorted to dropping down the other bomb. It was a necessary step for me to fulfill my plan. “Actually, I approached you because I need your help.”

“My help?” Aiden sounded so perplexed. He tilted his head a bit because I sounded so absurd with what I said. “What kind of help could I offer? Obviously, you’re a more powerful Mental than me. That I admit.”

“Yes. But you have more connections than I do.” I replied. It was so apparent that he was more than a snotty-nosed kid. Even for a 14-year-old teenager, I was just so sure that he had already made decent connections all around the world. “That I do not have. You’re a smart guy. And I could sense that. But it would be better if we could maximize that.”

“What’s in it for me?” Aiden asked. We sounded like a couple of politicians. He was looking for a benefit. And I was sure he would be more than interested. “I need to see something that could help me.”

“It’s for the sake of every Mental on earth.” I was confident with my intuition. And I knew I was on the right track. My skin could feel the threads of fate drawing all of the powerful Mentals together. I was sure that it wouldn’t be just Aiden and me soon enough. “And the last time I checked, you’re one of us.”

“What do you mean by that?” His eyes narrowed. A pair of inquisitive eyes would always make me feel awkward. But not this time. “I know I’m a Mental. That is very obvious. But you’re talking like this has some global effect.”

“Simple. You don’t want to be a guinea pig for a human experiment. Once you’re identified as a Mental with a high H-Score, then you’ll surely be on the checklist.” I explained. His head suddenly tilted by a slight angle. Trying to understand what I was really saying. The reaction on his face showed that he was already concerned and listening. “I was able to plant a spy inside the US Military. He doesn’t even know it, and I am using him at my disposal. Because of him, I know that they are doing human experiments on Mentals who are above average.”

“I’m listening.” He muttered. “I assume you have others.”

“Actually, not yet.” I admitted. He looked me straight in the eyes. Checking to see if I was stating the truth. I was slowly showing all of my cards on the table. But it was worth the risk if I would be able to get him to work with me. “But I’m planning to lure other military officials who can access more into Helix Corp. I need to know more about what they are hiding.”

“It was a good time for you to do this.” Aiden complimented. I didn’t really expect that one from him. All he could say so far was a dry cold statement or a sarcastic remark. “The tension between Mentals and human beings have almost died down. The military had already let their guard down. And they might not expect Mentals capable of brainwashing humans. But human experimentation would always be used for something else. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”

“I have a hypothesis. They are planning to find a way to weaponize our abilities.” I said. This caused Aiden’s eyes to turn more serious. “Plus, I am looking for clues regarding my missing friend, Damian Davis. There has got to be some clues in Helix Corp.”

“Fine. I’ll help.” Aiden finally decided. “I will work with you. But you’re no friend of mine.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Simple.” He stated. “I do not like you. Don’t ask.”

“Fair enough.” I replied coldly. His cold gray eyes were staring at my pair of emerald green. “But we still need to watch each other’s backs.”

Before he could make another remark, the bell rang. Aiden just nodded at me and quickly left the scene. I looked for Colin, who was just watching us argue from a distance. When I looked on the table, Aiden left his cell phone number on a small piece of paper. I quickly took it and put it in my pocket.

“So, what’s your plan, Kieran?” Colin asked.

“Now we are sure that Aiden is a Mental. An above-average one at that.” I explained. Colin raised a brow, and by the look on his face, he wasn’t really convinced. “If my theory is correct and if the Helix Corp discovers this, then he might be in on a ride. And I’m not going to let that happen. I don’t want another Damian scenario.”

“Sure. I get that, Kieran. But what’s your real plan?” Colin pressed on. He knew me for too long, and it didn’t take a Mental to find out that I was planning something more significant. “We’ve been friends for almost half a decade. Don’t think I don’t know.”

“I’ll look for more allies.” I answered. “Then we’re going to infiltrate Helix Corp.”