The Ringkeepers

“WHAT?! You’re telling me that NOW?! I’ve known you for how long? Nearly my whole  life! Seriously? Arg!” Jamie said. Her best friend, Chloe, had just told her that for ten years she had been hiding a huge secret. 

Jamie looked at Chloe. “Ok, just to be clear, when you were 7, you broke your arm, and I somehow never even knew about it. When you were in the hospital, they used a practically untested solution to heal it and gave you a silver ring with a moonstone set into it.”

“Yes,” Chloe said. “Yesterday Collin stopped me in the hallway and told me I had powers. Then he just walked away,” Chloe said. “I just stood there and looked after him until someone behind me pushed me forward and I had to look away and get to class. I don’t know what powers I have or how to find that out, but I guess that Collin will tell me that later.” Her voice trailed off. 

Jamie rubbed her temples, fighting off a headache and the urge to punch something. She started to connect the dots in her head. Wait. She thought. Something is missing. She turned to Chloe. “Do you know how many people they used that ‘remedy’ on?” 

Chloe shook her head. “Nope. Not a clue. All I know is that whatever they did to me, they did to Collin. Oh, and that my mom said that it was ok for them to do it,” she said.

“That’s not much to go on,” Jamie said thoughtfully, her auburn bob bouncing lightly as she paced the schoolyard. “Ok…. Obviously you weren’t the first person they used this on. I don’t think Collin was either. So that means that there are at least three of you. I also don’t think either of you guys’ parents would have let them do that treatment if they didn’t know at least some of the possible risk involved. ” Chloe stared quizzically at Jamie. “Are you following me?”

“Yeah,”  Chloe said. “Look!”

Jamie followed Chloe’s finger behind her back and saw the CKG (Cool Kids Group) walking in their direction. Chloe was really the only person that Jamie hung out with, and the CKG almost never associated with them.

Hold on. Jamie thought, looking at every face individually. She didn’t have to have a photographic memory like Chloe to notice that someone was missing. Where’s Courtney? Something is definitely wrong. Courtney and Jamie had been friends in elementary, but when Courtney joined the CKG, she and Jamie didn’t get along as well, so they stopped hanging out. Now, Courtney was the leader of the CKG and as a result was always at the head of the bunch. 

“Missing someone?” Jamie sneered. She and the “cool kids” did not get along well. 

“Aren’t you missing someone?” Sam, Courtney’s second in command, sneered back. Jamie turned red, and her face burned hotter than the surface of the sun. Her feet were suddenly very interesting. She knew exactly who they were talking about. She had a huge crush on a boy named Chris Richards. He was absolutely adorable with his brown curls and handsome, deep brown eyes. His skin was a sun tanned golden brown, and when Jamie saw him, her heart started beating double time.  

“Not what I meant,” Jamie mumbled. Even if she wouldn’t show it, the snickers of the rest of the CKG were really starting to bother her. She took a deep breath. “I meant Courtney. Any idea where she could be?” As she said this, she planted her hands firmly on her hips.

Chloe came up from behind her. “One day, you’re going to get it, and I won’t feel bad.” She stated, her blonde hair showing gold and her green eyes lit from behind with a fiery rage that was bottled up inside her. 

“S-s-she’s in t-the b-b-b-bathroom.” Sam stuttered and pretended to cower in front of his bunch, then stood back up, laughing. He said something to the rest of the CKG, hooking his thumb in the direction of Chloe. The whole of the group started laughing so hard their faces turned red.

“Come on,” Chloe said through gritted teeth. “We shouldn’t associate with trash.” She said the last part loud enough that the CKG could hear, then grabbed Jamie’s arm and dragged her away. 

“Umm…. Ow. Can you like, I dunno, let go of my arm?!” Jamie said, yanking her arm out of Chloe’s death grip. “Come on, the bathroom is this way,” She beckoned Chloe to follow her towards the door back into Riverside High. The pair took a left turn at the first intersection and reached the bathroom that was accessible if they were outside. When Jamie walked in, she could hear someone crying. Oh no. She thought. A crying CKG leader was the last thing she wanted to deal with. She could practically hear the mascara running down her cheeks. 

“Courtney?” Jamie asked, careful to keep her tone helpful, not hurtful. “It’s Chloe and Jamie.”

“Go away,” Courtney said. 

“I know this sounds suspicious, but I don’t want to hurt you.”

“What can you do, Jamie?”

“Nothing if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”

“I can’t tell you.”

The lock on the stall clicked and a mascara-stained Courtney motioned for them to come into the stall with her. “But maybe I can show you.” Courtney paused, considering the situation. “How do I know I can trust you?” she questioned.

“You can trust me. You know that. Also, if I trust Chloe, which I do, then you can too,” Jamie said.

“Ok, fine. Please don’t freak out like I did.” With that, Courtney turned to the toilet, her brown curls tossing behind her. 

Jamie and Chloe looked at her expectantly.

“Here goes nothing,” Courtney muttered.

To both Chloe and Jamie’s astonishment, the water in the toilet bowl rose above the toilet.

“Oh. My. Gosh. No. No no no no no…” Chloe said. She started shaking her head and trying to back out of the stall. 

“Ah ha! Ok, ok, this actually makes sense,” Jamie said.

“It does?” Chloe and Courtney asked in unison. 

“Yep. Chloe, here is your third victim.”

“VICTIM?!” Courtney whisper yelled. “I don’t want to be a victim!”

Hmm...maybe victim wasn’t the right word. Jamie thought. “Do you remember having any medical issues when you were little? Say, 7?” 

“Well, when I was in 1st or 2nd grade I had pretty bad insomnia, but my parents took me to a specialist and I haven’t had any trouble since.” 

“Alright. That means I was correct. I hope you don’t plan on going back to the CKG, because you’ll be spending a lot of time with us.”

“Whyyyyyyy,” Chloe groaned. 

Courtney shrugged, seeming indifferent.

“Come on, let’s go before teachers get suspicious. I’ll go first. Once I’m done washing my hands, Chloe will come behind me. When she turns the water on, Courtney, you come out behind her. Everyone ready?” Chloe and Courtney nodded, and Jamie walked out of the stall. She washed her hands, hearing the door unlock again behind her. When the water turned on, she heard the lock click again. Jamie walked back out into the hallway, deciding what to do about her current situation. She was so deep in thought, she stumbled right into Chris. She rebalanced herself and looked up.

“Are you ok?” Chris said, sweeping a curl out of his eyes.

“Yeah,” Jamie blushed. “Sorry. Where are you headed?” She realized how stupid that sounded as soon as she said it. She turned beet red.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. I just came inside to escape the heat for a sec. Do you want me to walk back outside with you?” 

Jamie could’ve melted on the spot. “Yeah. Courtney and Chloe are coming too. I hope that’s ok.” 

“Yep. Wait, did you say Courtney? Like CKG Courtney?”

“Yeah. But I think what you mean is former CKG Courtney. She’s going to hang out with us for now.”

“Okay then. Can I ask why?”

“Special circumstances,” Jamie said as she looked at the ground. She felt bad not telling him everything. 

“Oooookaaaaaaay...that’s not really an answer,” he said, looking concerned. 

“I know. It’s just not my secret to tell.”

“I get it. Can you keep another secret?”

“Yeah. I just did. Sort of. Anyways, yes.” 

Jamie started panicking. No way would Chris trust her now!

“Ok. Umm...Just between you and me, I think that there’s something wrong with me. I can’t explain it. I just- I don’t know. It just feels wrong.”

“Ok, well, number one, nothing is wrong with you. Number two, if I understand you, you’ll be seeing a lot more of Chloe, Courtney, Collin, and me.”

*****

Jamie’s phone buzzed. She rolled over and looked at her clock. 11:34. The only people that could be texting her at this hour was the “superpowers” group from earlier. She opened her messages and looked to see who it was. Chris? She thought. It was unlike him to text late.

Chris: Hey

You guys still up?

Jamie: Yeah, why?

Is something wrong?

Chris: No, but I need to know what’s wrong with me

Jamie: Ooooooookay….

Chris: I set a fire outside and I don’t know how it sparked or how to put it out

Jamie: Ok...ummm...Idk Try imagining yourself putting it out?

11:47 PM

Chris: It worked! I don’t know how you knew what I needed to do, but you saved my

house

Jamie: Ok, you didn’t say the fire was BIG!!!

Chris: Yeah I know. Sorry. I just didn’t want you to panic

Courtney: Uh, guys? What happened?

Jamie: Courtney?

Courtney: Yeah, I’m here

Chloe: Ok, this is so weird. Y r we all on 

here? Wut happened?

Jamie: There was a slight incident, but we’re good now

Courtney: Ok then

Chris: Ya im fine

                          Chloe: Ok if everyone is fine imma go back 

2 slp

Courtney: Good night guys

Chris: Night

Jamie: Good night ; )

*****

The next morning was Saturday. Jamie texted the group to come to her house.  Chloe texted Collin to come over too. Once the whole group was at Jamie’s house, they went outside. 

“Alright guys. So far, we have 4 superhumans. No offense, but I don’t know what else to call you,”

“None taken,” Collin said.

“Ok, so we know what powers two of you have,” Jamie pointed at Chris, who was directly in front of her. “Pyrokinetic and,” she hooked her thumb at Courtney, “Hydrokinetic.”

Collin muttered something inaudible.

“What?” The rest of the group said in unison.

“I said, I can move stuff without touching it,”

“Alright, we have a Telekinetic too,” Jamie said. “Did all of you guys bring your rings?”

They all murmured their yeses and yeahs, pulling rings off their fingers and out of their pockets.

“Ok, I have a theory on the ring colors. Courtney, when is your birthday?”

“September 5th, 2005,”

“And your ring is sapphire, right?”

Courtney nodded.

“Ok. So the rings are based on one of two things. Birthstone or power prediction. Or maybe power is based on birth month.” She started pondering this, staring into the distance.

“Hello? Earth to Jamie, do you copy? What about the other two? You can’t base a theory on one test. Even I know that,” Courtney said. 

Jamie snapped out of her daze.

“Alright guys, here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to type up a survey and email it to you. After you fill it out, send it back and I should - might - be able to make some connections about your powers. After I look it all over, I’ll text you guys the results. 

As everyone started to leave, Courtney came up to Jamie. “So…. How do you plan on, I don’t know, training those of us that already know our powers?” she asked. 

“I have a treehouse we can work at. Also, there’s a lake out behind the forest. I can get Collin to drive,” 

“What about me?” Collin said, walking over.

“You have a driver’s license, right?” Jamie said.

“Yeah…. Why?”

“Can you drive us somewhere if I tell you how to get there?”

“Uhhhh…. Sure?”

“Ok. I’ll text you when we’re ready.”

After everyone had left, Jamie went to her room and began setting up the survey. She had responses almost immediately and started to look over them as they came in. “Ok, so Collin: Birthday: April 6, 2004. Ring color: Diamond. Power: Telekinesis. Ok,” She whispered to herself while she worked, writing notes in her journal every now and then. 

“Alright. Time for the text. I hope I’m right.” She pulled out her cell phone. 

Jamie: Here is Chloe’s power prediction:

Chloe - Moonstone: Aerokinesis

Also I added Collin to this text group

She glanced at the clock. “Jeez. I didn’t realize it was already 11:15. Ugh.” 

She plugged in her phone and went to bed where she fell asleep almost immediately. 

*****

Jamie woke with a start in the middle of the night. She was sweating and shaking violently. 

What the heck is wrong with me? She thought. She sat up in her bed and looked around. Her favorite book was hovering several feet from the shelf and her tiny succulent was huge. She squinted, trying to get her eyes to adjust to the blinding light in her room. Now this was getting weird. What the heck?! There is no way I’m the one doing this. 

“Hello?” she quietly asked the room. There was no response. She squeaked, immediately slapping her hand over her mouth. The plant suddenly returned to normal size, the book fell to the floor, and her room went dark. Her brain finally put the puzzle together. She immediately texted the rest of the superhumans. 

Jamie: Hey guys I think there’s something wrong with me. I need you guys to be at my 

house asap. Once the sun is up, head this way 

Several hours later, all of the other kids were standing in Jamie’s room. 

“I woke up this morning to this,” She moved a book off the shelf, holding it midair, then made the succulent in her window double in size. Just to top it off, her room started glowing. The faces of her friends paled.

“Can we go outside? I need some air,” said Courtney. The group walked back outside in silence. 

Jamie made a small ball of light then picked up a potted plant without touching it.  She fell to her knees on the driveway and immediately the pot the plant was in shattered and the ball of light dissipated. All of the recent events suddenly made sense. Overwhelmed, she turned to Chloe. 

“Do you remember the week Lucas died? The week I can’t remember?”

Chloe nodded.

“It all came back. Me and my closest friend, Lucas, were walking down my street when a car flew around the corner. I couldn’t manage to tell him to move, and  the car gained on us. Lucas’s head hit the front windshield, shattering it, and my leg was pinned under the tire. The pain was sudden and unexpected, and I didn’t even have time to scream before I hit the pavement. White-hot pain seared through my body as I saw Lucas roll off the car and fall limply to the asphalt beside me, his head bleeding substantially. I was little and didn’t understand, so I started crying. Whoever was in the car called an ambulance. By then, I was losing consciousness. It was too late for Lucas, but there was still hope for me.” Jamie paused, out of breath, then started up again.

“As I was dying in the hospital bed, the doctor told my parents that there could be a way to save me, but it was completely untested. My parents were desperate, so they agreed.

“Lucas died because of me. I didn’t even try to push him out of the way.  I’m a monster,” she sobbed as she buried her face in her hands. 

Chris looked at her. “Jamie, you’re not a monster. Even if you were, I would still love you,” he said. 

Jamie looked up at Chris’s outstretched hand, her face tearstained and red. “I don’t deserve love,” she said. She buried her face back into her hands.

“Yes, you do. You were little. You didn’t understand. Please, Jamie,” Chris offered his hand again. When Jamie didn’t take it, he lifted her to her feet. She reluctantly stood on her own, her head hung in shame. Chris put his hands on her shoulders and looking at her. He pulled her into a hug, and Jamie hugged him back, tears streaming down her face.

“You don’t have to be a monster just because you have monstrous powers,” he whispered. His breath on her cheek made goosebumps tingle all over her. 

Chris is right. She thought. I don’t have to be a monster. Look at them. They’re facing the same situation. If they can do it, so can I. 

Jamie looked around at her friends. Her wonderful, beautiful friends.

“‘Right captain. Good to have you back,” Collin said, addressing Jamie. “Any idea what to do next?”

“The only thing we can. Train. Learn to control our powers. Most of all, keep the power from controlling us,” Jamie said, determination in her eyes.