The Edge

Chapter Two

'So, show me your ability.'

We're lying down on the sofa, staring at each other like DO SOMETHING ALREADY!

She shook her head. 'Can't.'

I groan. 'Look, nobody's going to see, and I've got one too, remember?' Marley sat up. 'Not that. I can't make it happen. It just does. All by itself. I can never control it... ugh. You wouldn't understand, yours just happens when you want it to, or when you're scared. Mine happens when it wants to, like it or not.' I pat her on the shoulder, trying to seem sympathetic. 'We can discuss it, just let me get my brother.'

I go outside and let Baecere in, and he sits next to me.

'Is this Marley?' He looks as if he was expecting more.

'I though that would be obvious, Baecere.' Marley raised her eyebrows. 'Baecere? And I thought Kal was an odd name. Baecere makes me think of bakery. Hi, Bakery.'

Baecere grunts. 'My name is not Bakery, you idiot!'

Marley rolls her eyes. 'Can't you take a joke?' I groan, and try to change the subject.

'Most people with abilities have really weird names. They usually come from where their specific power was first discovered.' 'Well, my parents thought if I got one too I'd stick out like a sore thumb. Look, I really can't control my power but I have used it a few times... until I got caught.'

'But what is it?' She still hadn't told me.

She blinked, and looked at the floor. 'Mind control.'

I start to feel slightly nauseous. I realized I was kind of glad she couldn't control it. I mean, she was in my class for a whole year! Think of all the times she could've used it on me!

She groaned. 'I know, it's really creepy. I don't like it either.'

Suddenly Baecere jumped onto my lap. It wasn't scary or anything, but it did make me jump. I figured what he was trying to do. 'Marley, this is my ability.'

I went invisible again. Except on purpose.

'Mum had to get my clothes specially made so they wouldn't be visible when I wasn't, except she tied this little piece of string around me here.' I show her the limp, faded orange string tied with a chain knot around my ankle. 'It was their friend James' idea. He works at a shop nearby. Now they can't... lose me if I turn invisible. And I can't run away or anything.'

She nodded, not looking interested. 'But... what are you doing here?'

Oh. I forgot.

'Look... you got caught. You must have used your ability.'
She blinked. 'Are you sure?'

'Pretty sure. Were you at a supermarket near a park by any chance?' She blinked. 'Oh... yeah. I was trying to stop a man who was yelling at his dog.'

'That's it?'

Marley's parents walk in sheepishly. Her mother sighs.

'Marley, have you ever wondered where Iryna actually went?'

'You told me she just went to that boarding school...'

I shook my head. 'Look... who is Iryna?' 'Marley's big sister. She's actually been living at a secret camp—Blue Birch—with this man called Gormain. But it's a while away... If you're going alone, take a slingshot. You can't trust anyone, and you need some form of self-defence, no matter how basic.'

'Okay, sounds good.'

'Right... you can start packing.'

'What? I thought we were visiting! Are we...'

'You're going to Blue Birch. Permanently. Or until this whole thing blows over.'            

'Me too.' I stood up. 'My parents aren't here anymore. They've been arrested. We don't have anybody looking after us. It's for the best. And I'll bring Baecere, and blankets, food, water... you name it. I don't have to share everything with Mum and Dad anymore. We. Are. Going.'

Marley's mum looked like she was about to protest. To complain about us living by ourselves for so long ("reckless," as James's wife put it). However, her dad nods. 'Gormain asked for Phoenix Stones too. Got any of those?'

'Yup. One.'

Phoenix Stones are everywhere. They're all the same: rose gold, strange-shaped garnets, a bird carving and a thin but firm silk thread tied around. Pretty common, but nobody knows what they're actually for. They've just been called lucky.

'Right, so you'll have to bring that. Now... I think you have some packing to do.'

We don't have a fridge. We sold it. Now all we've got is an esky.
We can bring basically everything we own. Except the furniture. And the unit, obviously. But I won't miss it. We have the worst house on our street by heaps, and I would know, because I've been inside the others for "neighbourly dinners" and they're all pretty good.

Compared to ours, they're like mansions with indoor pools.

We get back to Marley's house after about an hour. We find her holding a slingshot. Her family has two and a whole bunch of pellet guns, apparently because Marley got pranked by an older boy and her verbal response seriously irritated him. That's putting it lightly. Anyway, it turned out he was part of a gang.

'Right. I'm done. I've got the Phoenix Stone in here, food in here and a towel, which might make an okay blanket in hot weather, in here. So... do we go now?' I shrugged. 'Why not?'

'This was a stupid idea! Where are we supposed to go? It's going to get dark soon, and we're all... Kal, are you even listening?' Baecere gives me a hard shove and I land on top of Marley, and we accidently pull Baecere down too and then we all get caught under our quilt.

'No, because what you are saying could not be more pointless. So BE QUIET!'

This is NOT working out well. At all.

By 12:05 I am ready to pass out, so I move under a tree in case it rains. Marley climbs to the top to make it ABSOLUTELY CLEAR that she does not want anything to do with us and Baecere climbs another (although not very high) to make it ABSOLUTELY CLEAR that he feels the same way.

Basically, everyone hates me.