Gods and Men, Ch. 4
March 31, 2008
By J.D. Cook
4. Harnessing the Power
The television flickered as Jeremiah walked into his living room. Things like this had been happening ever since Jeremiah got out of the hospital five weeks ago. At first it seemed like they might just have bad wiring or something. But as time went on the disturbances were getting worse. When Jeremiah touched a switch, the light would short out. When he walked near the television, it would get a fuzzy picture. And if he got too close to it, it would turn off. The worst part was attempting to type on his computer. He had many assignments due in his Creative Writing class now because when he tried to type the entire computer would start to spew smoke. At least they didn’t set off the smoke detector that shorted out the first time he went near it. However, the biggest shock was when his mom got the electric bill.
But something new was happening as Jeremiah got close to his television this time, something he could not explain. It was as if energy was flowing through him. He felt as if he could push all the energy in his body out through his hands. Jeremiah stood for a moment, unsure what to do. Then he focused on pushing the energy out. He concentrated for a tense moment before a ball of light appeared in his palm. He smiled to himself in satisfaction but a moment later the ball exploded and sent lightning at his ceiling – burning a large hole above him.
“How am I going to explain this to mom?” he thought.
Jeremiah looked at the television and got an idea. “If I can project electricity, then just maybe I can absorb it also. That’s why things powered by electricity our going nuts around me.”
Jeremiah again concentrated on the energy, this time focusing on pulling it inwards. Suddenly, he could not only just feel the energy of his own body, but of the entire house. It was as if he was conscious of all the electricity in reach. “Now, to use that energy.” he thought.
He again went into a bit of trance localizing his thought to the energy of the house. Then with a flash out of the television and all the outlets in the living room shot electricity. It flashed white and towards him. Suddenly more power and energy proceeded through him than he ever thought possible. “Now for a test run.” he thought.
It had taken him only a short time to cross Broad Street and head into the woods on the other side. Once he knew no one could see him, he began to almost meditate and push the energy into the palm of his hand. This time the ball was much bigger and he was able to keep it from exploding for more than a few seconds. As the ball exploded, a tree burst into flames. Then it dawned on Jeremiah that a place heavily surrounded by trees might not be the best place to practice such potentially flammable activity. “Well, I need a new place to practice.” he thought walking back towards his house.
As he opened the door he heard his mother, who had returned from the grocery store, making quite a commotion.
He claimed a freak bolt of lightning caused the hole in the ceiling, and then spent the rest of the week looking for somewhere to practice his skill without igniting a forest. He finally decided to walk to the abandoned lot behind Blockbuster Video. It wasn’t huge and was a good distance from trees, or anything else overtly flammable. Minus an occasional hobo or cop, no one was ever back there so he could practice undisturbed. Jeremiah quickly discovered some amazing new things he could do. First, he learned he could control the direction of the electricity when it left his hand. Then he discovered he could project it from more than his hands, as he successfully fired it from his eyes and chest as well. His most important discovery, however, was that he could not only absorb, but also manipulate the electricity of other things. He successfully accomplished this when he sent electricity out of his computer into his television.