Prologue
Aaron
I need to find them. I had been running for days, trying to lose the Fisherman that had been tailing me since the Quarry. I sighed as I approached the shopping centre. Clueless people milled about, walking in and out of shops, stopping to talk as if they had all the time in the world, and they probably did.
It would have been a lot easier to lose the Fisherman if I had stopped using my powers. But that would make finding Them a lot longer, and I, unfortunately didn’t have the time that these pedestrians took for granted. I had to find the next two before their powers manifest, before the Fishermen come for them, before all hell breaks loose. But first things first. I drew my cap down over my eyes, casually turning my head to the side.
A tall woman with locks walking her dog. A man sitting on the bench enjoying a sandwich… There. The man with the camera taking a picture of the lake behind me. I closed my eyes. Touching the crucifix that lay on my chest.
3.
I drew up that ball of heat within me, ever present at the centre of my heart.
2.
I let it rush through me flooding my veins, engulfing each atom of my being.
1.
I opened my eyes, crimson and gold flashing behind them, and I ran. I bolted through the doors of the shopping centre. Time slowed down around me. The actions of every being played out in slow motion.
I burst through the double doors at the other end of the mall and turned off the tap that was flowing freely in my chest. I inhaled deeply and exhaled. The power was still there within me. But it was contained. I strolled casually down the street and stopped as the bus arrived. I didn’t have to turn to know that the Fisherman was still wandering through the centre in circles tracking my bolts. I had made sure to circle the centre several times, so that my signature would overload the sensor. The bus pulled away. I looked out of the window as I headed in the direction of the tugging sensation.
