Prometheus Burning (Chapter Six, Show's Over)

Chapter Six

            Show's Over

    Sam woke up even more tired than before he went to bed. Arthur was already up and dressed. "Better hurry, Sam. We've got yoga first." Arthur didn't seem as excited as he was yesterday. He almost seemed sad. Perhaps he wasn't a morning person.

    A voice filled the room from an intercom.

    "All students are advised that we will be returning to regular schedule today. No use of abilities is allowed outside of the classroom. You are not permitted to enter the yard. You are not permitted to communicate in the hallways. You are not permitted to enter any portion of the manor other than areas designated for class and facilities."

    The voice shut off.

    The walk to the gymnasium was like a funeral procession. The teachers waited outside of their doorways, standing over the kids like hawks. Sam remembered his father teaching him how to spot a cop, they always stand with their hands behind their back and their feet wide apart. Some of the teachers looked like cops.

    Once they reached the gymnasium, a man in black sweat pants and a maroon shirt went through yoga poses with them. "Why do we have to do this?" Sam asked in the midst of a very embarrassing pose called the 'downward dog'.

    The man stood up straight.

    "First of all, because it's the rules. Second, it cultivates your energy. Are you able to see auras yet?" The man asked. He was bald, and had a hooked nose, Sam guessed he was at least seventy.

    "What's an aura?"

    "An aura is the energy you draw from the spiritual plane. It's how you are able to use your gifts. Your aura is barely visible, because you haven't learned to use your gift extensively yet. The more you use it, and the healthier your body, the better you'll become. Now we're moving into the crow's pose." The man balanced on his arms. The crows pose did not look humanly possible.

    Sam didn't like yoga, but he had to do it, so he did.

    "Next is clairvoyance. It's my favorite." Arthur said before they left the gymnasium. They stepped into the halls and walked up a spiral staircase to the third floor. It felt very lonely in the third floor, and for the first time since he'd arrived, Sam wondered if his dad was okay.

    "Can I call home?" He asked.

    Arthur was pretending he couldn't hear him again.

    "Arthur?"

    "No talking in the halls, sweetie," Mrs. Lynn warned. Sam forgot that art class was on the third floor. The classroom looked different, there weren't any easels or paint brushes, just desks, and something covered with a curtain. Mrs. Lynn moved in front of the door and blocked his view.

    Arthur turned into a room with two long tables. Sam sat facing Arthur, there was a deck of cards between them. Instead of having regular suits, these cards just had shapes, like squiggles, triangles, circles, and squares. "Are we going to play a game?" Sam asked.

    "This isn't a game," a man said. He was tall, broad shouldered, and completely terrifying. Sam felt ripples of hatred roll over his body, he didn't know why. The man had a long white beard and brown eyes that seemed to flicker red in darkness.

    And then Sam saw an aura.

    The man was swallowing up all of the darkness in the room, too bright light made Sam's eyes tear up. The shadowy black mist that surrounded him swirled like a storm brewing. "You must be one of the new ones," the man said, "I'm Prof. Lynch. I'll be helping you master the art of clairvoyance."

    Sam new that Prof. Lynch had done very bad things.

    "Alright class, everyone grab a card, don't show it to your partner."

    Sam obeyed, he got a card with a star on it. "Now, look your partner in the eyes, make them know that you are in control. Make them feel weak." Sam gave Arthur his best intimidating glare, but Arthur's eyes cut into him like razors.

    "Once there aura becomes clear, break it."

    Sam couldn't see Arthur's aura, Prof. Lynch's aura was too strong, too distracting. He could feel a humming sensation between his eyes, just above the bridge of his nose. Then, the image of the star was emblazoned in white in his vision.

    "Find the image in your partner."

    Sam knew that Arthur already had, but he couldn't even see Arthur's aura.

    "Three seconds to guess."

    "A star?" Arthur asked, Sam nodded. Other students had already guessed as well.

His aura finally shimmered around him, it was green. Sam tried to ‘break’ it. He didn't know what that meant, he squinted at Arthur, but nothing was happening.. "Time's up. If you couldn't guess, come to the front of the classroom."

    Sam did as he was told. The walk felt like miles, and he was the only one. "What's your name, son?" Sam muttered his name, feeling lower than a dog. "You failed today. I don't see what worth Dr. Ferrell saw in you."

    Suddenly, the anger welled up in Sam.

    No one was going to call him worthless.

    The only other man who had was dead.

    He pushed through Prof. Lynch's dark aura, and he was in his mind. He saw images of a bronze cage with white orbs hovering like fire flies. He felt lonely, trapped. Then he was standing on wet pavement, his leg felt crushed, and blood was seeping down his brow. There was a woman still trapped in the flames of the car.

    And then Sam fell to his knees.

    His stomach was being pierced by needles, he felt it. Prof. Lynch was standing over him, smiling and glaring at the same time. His hatred was familiar, it was the same hatred he felt from his father. Lynch's temple was pulsing, he brought his hand back and struck Sam across the face. A rivulet of blood ran down his cheek, the taste of iron filled his mouth.

    "Never, in all my years, have I met a more disrespectful little creature. What does it feel like, to be invaded?" He asked, and then Sam felt the man pierce his aura and traverse his thoughts. He convulsed, the snakes in his stomach wriggled more than ever, trying to get out.

    Then it stopped, and everything was still.

    "Go back to your partner and try again." Lynch said. He wasn't angry anymore, his jaw was set, and he cast his gaze out the window. Arthur gave Sam an odd look, a mixture of fear and respect. Sam just wished he could go home. He wiped the blood off of his cheek and kept on.