Mercy Chapter 4

On the other side of the teleport, Faith looked back, and said, “I was so close. One more minute and I would have saved Dad’s memories, like I did with Mom.”

“Actually, that might not have been smart, dear.” Mrs. Carson said.

“What do you mean?”

“Having another person’s mind and memories in your head could hurt you. And you already have your mother’s memories, which means the risk would be even greater if you added your father’s memories too. “

“But he wasn’t responsible! He’d been taking his meds, it wasn’t his fault!”

“I believe you. And I promise I will do all I can to clear his name. But I cant put your life in danger.”

Faith sighed. She could feel that Mrs. Carson was sincere, so she reluctantly let it go for now.

Talia shimmered, and the next moment, she was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. “Come on,” she said, taking Faith’s hand, “I’ll give you the tour while Mrs. C. gets your power testing set up.”

The tour staggered Faith. Not just the campus, or the powers displayed by the students, but because of the emotional pain some of the students had been through. There was a boy who had been a girl a few months ago, and was still struggling to adjust. There was a girl whose introduction to girlhood involved being raped by members of her own family. And perhaps most painful of all, there was a girl who had been held prisoner and forced to use her talents for a madman who succeeded in making the girl feel responsible for all of his crimes.

Tears leaked out of Faith’s eyes, and Talia noticed.

“What’s wrong?” Talia asked.

“So much pain, so much sorrow ...” Faith managed.

“Let’s try something that might help. I want you to think about a brick wall.” Talia said.

“A ... brick wall?”

“Just try. Picture it. A plain, red, brick wall.”

Faith tried, and the emotions flooding in from around her dimmed.

“Oh!” she exclaimed.

“Did it work?” Talia asked.

“Yeah, thanks. Where did you get that idea?’

“An old movie I watched last week. But the important thing is that it worked.”

They continued the tour, but Faith was also busy thinking. She decided to not feel sorry for herself, as so many others had sorrow and pain as bad if not worse than hers. She silently vowed to be a force for healing, for comforting those with loss.

“Good for you, honey.” Her mother whispered.

The two girls finished the tour, and went to where Faith would have her powers tested.

“Listen, Faith. I need to get to class. Will you be okay for a bit?”

“Class? But I thought you were Mrs. Carson’s assistant?”

“That was just temporary. I’m a teenager, although I look a little older.”

“Will I see you again?”

“Absolutely. I will be here after your tests are done, and you’ll be rooming with me in Poe.”

“Cool!” Faith exclaimed.

“Anyway, take care. I’ll be back when you’re done.” Talia said, and took off.

Faith sighed, and then entered the testing lab.

*****

The next couple of hours were painful, embarrassing, and frustrating for Faith. They tested her and tested her, in ways she had never even dreamed existed, before finally signing off on her card.

The worst frustrations had been about her mother’s mind in her head, and her wings. They insisted that no matter how strong her telepathy, she couldn’t have made a “back-up” of her mother’s mind, and so insisted she was an Avatar. She wasn’t sure they were right, but ultimately she let the argument go.

The wings were even more frustrating. They did believe them to be magic, but of a kind they had never seen outside of obscure and ancient texts. They finally decided to just sign Faith up for some basic magic classes, just to be sure they covered the situation.

But there had been one moment of satisfaction for her. She had finally come up with a code name, and she smiled as she looked at the card which had the name on one side.

“Mercy”.

Meanwhile, just outside the campus, a shadow growled at a barrier only it could see ...

To be continued ...