Bartholomew Nelson and the World of Zathya: The Prince and the Heir

“Enough,” Victoria said. “We don’t have a lot of time and you need to be trained, both of you. We can have another history lesson after your first wielding lesson.” With that she walked back across the room and out the door. Charlotte followed without hesitation but before Jonah left Bart stopped him.

“Jonah, hold on,” he said quietly. “How sure are you that this guy betrayed my father?” Jonah looked back at the door and then back to Bart.

“I believe it without a doubt in my mind Bart.”

“Then how do I find him?” Bart asked irately. Jonah seemed a little shocked at Bart’s answer but all he did was smile.

“In due time my friend, in due time,” he responded and gave him a pat on the back. With that Bart followed Jonah out into the back yard. The yard was huge. There was one tree on the far end but everything else was just grass. Bart couldn’t believe there was so much room.

“Isn’t it a bad idea to be out here at night with those guys looking for Bart,” Charlotte said. Victoria just waved her hand in response.

“This house is our safe house. They cannot find it unless they have been told its location. Only people who’ve been here can find their way back.”

“Oh,” Charlotte said. “Cool.”

“Come over and have a seat in front of me,” Victoria said to the two teens. They walked over to the tree and sat right in front of her. Jonah stood by the tree and started to peal an orange with his hunting knife. The door opened behind them and out walked Charlotte’s dad. He looked tired like he hadn’t gotten any rest in days. Charlotte blushed and then looked back towards Victoria. “First things first, you must become self aware.” Bart looked at Charlotte who was staring at Victoria, obviously lost.

“Um,” Bart started. “I don’t know about Charlotte here but I’m pretty sure I’m aware of my own self. I mean I do know I’m standing right here right now.” Victoria smiled but Jonah kept a straight face.

“You know what most know, but what most know is far less than what they can know,” she said slowly. It sounded like some kind of old wise saying that you could find in some ancient text or in The Art of War by Sun Tzu.

“Yeah try saying that as fast as you can five times in a row,” he said with a laugh. “You know what most know, but what most know, wait…can you say it again?” Victoria ignored him.

“You are, to some degree, self aware. Most people are aware of their body and their mind to a small amount. They use almost all of their brains but they do not realize that the mind is much deeper and vast than what they are used to.”

“I’ve heard people say that we only use ten percent of our brains,” Charlotte said. Bart had heard the same thing on multiple occasions but he had also heard that this was a myth. However, from what Victoria was saying, it sounds like it might not be.

“I cannot speak on that since I don’t exactly know what percentage is used, but what I do know is there are great mysteries within the mind as are there within the body. You think you have complete control over your body, but when you are fully aware, your senses will dramatically increase, and you will be able to control much more than you previously could.”

“That sounds awesome!” Bart said enthusiastically. He could picture himself seeing far distances and being able to hear a pin drop in a haystack. The thought of being able to do such miraculous things had him very excited. “So wielding is basically magic?”

“Ha, they all say that,” Jonah said, his mouth full of orange slices.

“Yes, in a sense, wielding is magic and magic is wielding,” Victoria said ignoring Jonah. “However, it is much more intricate than that. Magic is an idea that was formed because in the past people did not know what wielding was. So in a sense, magic is just another word for wielding.” Victoria could see a slight confused look on Bart and Charlotte’s face and realized they weren’t really following. “I won’t get into the politics of it all.”

“Well it still sounds amazing,” Charlotte said.

“It is a fantastic feeling. But to be able to wield you must become fully self-aware. That means more than body and mind. You have to become spiritually aware to unlock the other two. This is what I will teach you: how to find the deepest part of your being, how to find the innermost ‘you’. Once you do this, everything else will follow.”

“I have to find my soul?” Bart asked sounding a little confused. “This sounds like something straight out of a Disney movie.”

“Forgive me but I am unfamiliar with Disney,” Victoria said. Bart put his head down a little, feeling somewhat ashamed for his last comment. He could feel Charlotte looking at him, probably thinking, don’t you have any manners? “Regardless of what this may seem like to you, Bartholomew, it is the only way you will begin your training. Without becoming self-aware, fully self-aware, you will be unable to wield, thereby becoming an easy target.” Bart kept his head down in shame but gave her an “Okay,” to show he was still listening.

“Why is it so hard to become self aware?” Charlotte asked.

“It’s about faith and will power,” Jonah said. Bart had forgotten that Jonah was even there, eating his orange.

“Exactly,” said Victoria. “Many people lose their faith in the fantastic as they get older. That is why it becomes such a difficult task. In Zathya we begin teaching kids at young ages because it is easier to reach complete self awareness then.” Bart knew this to be true. When he was young, magic and all the outrageous fantasy-type things seemed so real, so attainable. Yet as he got older he stopped believing in them. He was taught that magic, Santa Claus, and the Easter bunny were all fake, and even though you want to believe in them, you almost always grow out of it.

“Can anyone be born self aware?” Bart asked.

“As far as I know, only three people have been born self aware, so it is a rare occurrence, outside of the Majestics, of course.”

“What are Majestics?” Charlotte asked before Bart could even form the words. It was clear that both of them were extremely interested in all of this self-awareness talk.

“Too long of a story for now,” Victoria said.

“Well then who are the three?” Bart figured that if they were born self aware, then they must’ve been extremely powerful.

“The three that I know of are Tovram Yessiah, Castien Thrack, and Master Turin Anaclime.” Bart recognized the last name as the name of Demetrius’s grandfather. If he was born self aware, Bart couldn’t help but wonder what happened to him and the other two.

“Enough of the stories for now, let us begin. First you must become completely calm. You must become one spiritually, physically, and mentally and then you will be in a state of full awareness. But first we must locate your spirit. So we will calm your mind and body then find your soul. Think of anything that can calm you and focus on that.” Bart didn’t know what to think about. In his entire fifteen years of life he didn’t have a lot of calming memories. He closed his eyes and continued to think, but still nothing.

“This is a lot harder than I thought it would be,” he said softly.

“It is never easy, but you can do this,” Victoria said. That’s when it hit him. He had never been calmer than a couple nights ago when Victoria saved him. It was something in the way she looked at him and spoke to him that made him so relaxed in every way; the pain in his leg wasn’t even fazing him while she spoke. Bart continued to think about that and as he did, the calmer he became.

“That’s it. I can feel your energies flowing smoothly. Your minds are becoming calm. Now I need you to focus on your bodies. Relax, and try not to be so tense. Let your muscles loosen and keep your mind at ease.” Bart started to feel his muscles relaxing and he felt like he was meditating. His mind was clear and for once it seemed like he didn’t have a care in the world. He started to wonder how Charlotte was doing, but then Victoria spoke again.

“No Bart, don’t lose your focus. I can feel your mind starting to race again. Let it be free. Charlotte is fine do not worry.” Instead of becoming calm again, Bart was embarrassed. Why did she say that aloud? Now Charlotte was going to know that Bart was thinking about her instead of focusing on what he was doing. Then another thought occurred to him. How did she know what he was thinking about? Could she read minds? If this wielding could teach Bart how to read minds, he would be invincible! He started to get excited and started to focus again. It wasn’t hard for him to focus his mind this time; it only took a few minutes. Then his body was next, which took a little longer but he eventually succeeded there too. Next was the spirit, and Bart had a feeling this would be the hard part. Best for last, he guessed. “Great! Now here is the challenge. You have to focus all of your energy on yourself. Don’t think about anything else. As you do this, you will feel yourself start to drift into a state of consciousness that feels like a dream. There is where you will find your spirit.” Bart listened carefully to every word she said until everything went silent. Then, without actually meaning to do so, his eyes opened, but he wasn’t sitting in the back yard anymore. He found himself in an empty room with a doorway on the other side. As he looked around the room he realized that the ceiling was nowhere in sight. The walls just stretched and stretched, seemingly endless. When he made it through the door, there was nothing but darkness on the other side. He couldn’t tell if there was a floor in front of him or an endless drop. His sight didn’t help him see any further than centimeters in front of him.

“Hello?” Bart said softly suddenly worrying about what to expect. Then, without warning, he was thrown into the black space. He began falling and his stomach started to turn. He tried to scream, but his mouth wouldn’t open. He felt as though he had lost control of his entire body. His arms began to cramp up, as did his legs. As he continued to plummet into the apparently everlasting darkness, his eyes began to water uncontrollably and his nose started running. As the speed picked up, he felt the saliva spraying from his mouth and he couldn’t stop it. If this was what dying felt like he hated it. Then he heard Victoria’s voice.

“This is the part where your will comes in, Bart. Many people have failed and have been lost in their own minds because they didn’t have the will power. But you have it. Fight against what you are feeling right now. Use your will to calm yourself. You are panicking and this will cause you to become a slave in your own mind. Fight it, Bart. Fight it!” Bart didn’t know how he was going to stop panicking but he knew he didn’t want to become trapped in his own mind. He began to think about all the calming things at once. His mother’s stories when he was little, Victoria’s calming voice the night of the attack, Charlotte’s friendship--they all came flooding to his head, and then suddenly he could open his mouth. Then he could move his arms and legs and before he knew it the falling stopped, and he was standing in a dark room. Right before his eyes a small blue light floated in mid air. He felt drawn to it as if it belonged to him. He walked over slowly and stopped when he was only inches away. That’s when the light exploded, blinding Bart but filling him with a warm sensation. He felt that sensation run up his spine and right into the stem of his skull. His eyes shot open and his head shot up and all he could see were colors swirling around in the air, spiraling down towards him. He couldn’t move, but he wasn’t sure that he wanted to. Then the colors turned a bright white and blinded him as they entered his body. His eyes shut and then everything was still. Bart wasn’t sure what had just happened, but he felt different. He could feel a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead. It slowly slid from the top of his forehead to the tip of his nose. His hearing must have been working on overdrive because he swore he could hear the television of a neighbors’ house only there were no houses next door to this one. He slowly opened his eyes and everything seemed so vivid. It was if his eyes were in some sort of hyper HD mode. Victoria was sitting there smiling, but she wasn’t moving. Bart couldn’t turn his head or move his body; he could only open and close his eyes. He looked past Victoria and could see a small caterpillar on a leaf in the tree. It shocked him how vivid everything looked. The caterpillar was so stunning in all its marvelous colors that Bart could easily distinguish from one another.

This is insane, he thought as he sniffed the air and could smell the fresh orange peelings on the ground next to Jonah. He could also smell alcohol and he determined it was coming from behind him. That meant Mr. Cole had been drinking. Bart guessed that was an okay response. He was probably stressed about the prospect of seeing his wife again. He could also smell the deodorant that he put on three days ago. There was no way it was still working. Maybe those commercials were right about 24-hour odor protection. He was sure he should tell them that they should advertise 72 hours from now on. Then suddenly the white light flashed again, and his eyes were closed again. He opened them and Victoria was still smiling only this time he could tell she wasn’t frozen solid.

“Congratulations,” she said as she stood up. “You have become completely and fully aware. Can you feel the difference?” Bart stood up and looked around. Everything was so much more enhanced and he loved it. He could see the small cracks in different parts of the wooden fence. His ears were picking up sounds that he couldn’t identify a location for.

“This is amazing,” he said. “Of course I can feel the difference! Charlotte, can you-” but he stopped as he looked at her. She was still sitting there not moving at all, legs crossed and all. “What happened?”

“She hasn’t found her source yet,” Victoria said. “Hers is for her as yours was for you.” Bart’s eyes lit up but then he quickly got himself under control.

“How did you get in my mind like that?” he asked, trying to change the subject.

“It is called mind wielding. Every aspect of wielding has a million sub levels that come with it. One sub level of mind wielding is the ability to enter another’s mind. It’s extremely difficult without practice but once mastered it can become an invaluable tool in many ways.”

“You’re telling me you’ve mastered entering peoples’ minds?” Bart asked, astonished.

“No, no I am far from a master,” she said, chuckling. “But I am good enough to enter yours.”

“Well yeah,” Bart said. “Thanks by the way for outing me and letting Charlotte know what I was thinking about.” Victoria and Jonah laughed at this.

“No worries, Bart. All the talking I was doing was in your mind. She heard nothing.” Bart felt embarrassed again. He had to learn to stop doubting Victoria.

“Right,” Bart said. “Sorry.” Victoria smiled. Then suddenly Charlotte stood up and started cheering.

“I did it,” She exclaimed as she ran over to the group. She and Bart exchanged awkward smiles and then looked at Victoria.

“You have done great, both of you,” she said softly. “Now we begin to wield.” Bart felt his stomach jump. He wasn’t that excited before, but just connecting to his aura made him feel like he could do anything. In his entire life he hadn’t experienced anything like this. It was an amazing feeling of freedom. He felt for the first time that he was actually living as a part of the world. It gave him that sense of adventure he was always craving, and he loved it. Charlotte looked to her dad and gave a half-hearted smile that he returned in kind.

“This is where the fun begins,” Jonah said as he finished peeling another orange.

“First step to wielding is to feel. Everything around you can be wielded. Nothing is out of your reach. However, let’s start with the easiest tools first: nature.” Victoria stepped forward and signaled for the two to step back. Then she turned and faced the tree with one hand extended straight out. Jonah stepped away and around her next to Bart. “Focus is key when trying to wield nature. Nature is one of our phenomena that has a mind of its own. To control it, you must strengthen your mind.” As she finished speaking, she took one step back and then, all of a sudden, the wind started to pick up around her. Bart could feel it sucking him towards her as the wind speeds started to increase. Bart couldn’t believe what he was seeing. All the leaves in the tree were being pulled off and sucked into this vortex forming a huge floating ball of red and orange leaves. It floated in front of Victoria for a while, and then she slowly split the leaves into two piles and set them down. Charlotte looked at Bart, who was already looking at her in astonishment.

“That was incredible,” Charlotte cheered as she walked up to Victoria.

“That was so cool,” Bart added.

“It takes a lot of practice to become good at wielding, my friends. That is why you must never lose your focus. Losing your focus in practice could be the difference between survival and death in an actual encounter.” Victoria’s words were strong, and Bart knew she was not joking. He could see it on her face.

“So how do we start?” Bart asked eagerly. Victoria turned towards the piles and pointed.

“Each of you will get a pile. I want you to use the wind to form a ball and float the pile. This isn’t going to be easy, but if you truly believe, and if you truly focus, you will succeed.” Bart nodded and looked at Charlotte.

“Good luck,” she whispered and she walked over to her pile. Bart then walked over to his pile and stopped. He didn’t even know where to begin. His heart started to race but then he remembered Victoria’s words. He had to stay calm and focus. If he could do that, then this would be a walk in the park. Bart closed his eyes and started to focus. He wanted to make sure he had complete focus before he attempted to “feel” the air around him. Not only was he focusing his mind but also his body and spirit. Victoria hadn’t said he needed all three, but he was sure since he had to become one with all three, using all three would be an easier route. At first nothing happened. He stood there for what felt like hours trying to feel for the wind. He had been focusing so hard that he hadn’t heard anything. There wasn’t even a sound from Charlotte next to him. The fact that Victoria wasn’t in his mind must have meant that she wanted him to do this on his own. Great, all alone trying to feel for the wind, he thought to himself. Man would he seem like a loser back at school if he told this story. “Oh hey guys guess what? I can feel the wind.” Not very ‘cool’ at all. He could tell he was losing focus so he started to re focus. Suddenly, he could feel something. It felt like little bugs on his arm at first but then as he focused on the sensation he could literally feel the air around him. It seemed to be heavy as if he had a weight vest on. The feeling of heaviness was making him tired so Bart tried really hard to focus his body strength. After a few minutes he got it under control. It’s now or never Bart, he said to himself. Slowly, he started to lift his hand and as he did the weight shifted from his shoulders, to his biceps, to his wrist, and then finally when his arm was fully extended, to his hand. Bart started to focus now with his mind and his body. He used his body to hold the weight while he used his mind to think about a circle. As he did he felt the air shifting and swirling around, and he almost lost his focus just so he could open his eyes, but he caught himself and stayed focused. Suddenly he felt the weight shift one last time and then it was constant. He knew what he had to do now. As he turned his palm upwards he opened his eyes to see a huge ball of leaves starting to rise. He couldn’t believe it. After all that time he had done it.

“Char!” he screamed. “Look, look! I’m doing it!” Charlotte didn’t answer, but Bart was too focused and excited to look at her expression. He was sure she was probably already done with hers. As he continued to make it rise he could feel it becoming easier and easier to control the wind. He wasn’t sure what he could do, but he wanted to test it. His first thought was of an arrow. Just like that, the leaves twisted and swirled until there was a giant leaf arrow floating in front of him. “This is crazy,” he said aloud as he continued to shift the leaves into anything: a square, triangle, even a basketball hoop. It didn’t matter what it was, Bart was having the time of his life. After doing this for a few minutes, Bart finally let the leaves go and they fell into a huge pile, much bigger than before. He turned to see Charlotte, Victoria, and Jonah staring at him with different expressions on their faces. Charlotte looked a little angry, while Victoria looked overjoyed, and Jonah looked skeptical.

“Bart, how did you do that?” Jonah asked.

“What?” Bart asked, clearly confused.

“We’ve never seen someone pick it up so fast,” Victoria said smiling. “The fact that you even got the leaves into a circle is alone amazing, but for you to use both your pile and Charlotte’s pile and then wield it so effortlessly, is amazing.” Now Bart knew why Charlotte was so upset. He looked at her and mouthed the word sorry.

“Quite,” Jonah added in. Bart wasn’t so sure why he looked so angry, but he thought it best not to ask.

“I guess its natural talent,” Bart said brandishing a smile towards Charlotte, who simply stuck her tongue out mocking the act of vomiting. He blew on his fingertips and lightly scratched his chest area mocking how pleased with himself he was.

Victoria’s expression was one of someone who was very impressed. “I have to say that this is truly a fantastic accomplishment, Bartholomew. Continue to practice. Don’t let this affect your training. Even if you are naturally gifted, you need to practice. Natural gifts will not help you defeat your enemies. They are far too strong for that. Nevertheless, great job.” She gave him a pat on the shoulder as Jonah turned and walked inside. “Don’t mind him. Unlike you, his skills took him time to develop. He will be fine in the morning. In the meantime, continue practicing, but don’t wear yourself out. We will be leaving at daybreak.” With one more pat on the shoulder for Bart, Victoria walked inside after Jonah. Bart turned and relished in his glory moment. Charlotte took the opportunity to trip him as he walked towards the tree making him fall face first into the pile of leaves.

“You heard her fart face,” she said. “Don’t let it go to your head.” Bart collected himself and spit out a couple of leaves.

“Nice one, Char, real nice. Besides I’m not letting it go to my head. I’m just really happy I’m great at something for once.” Charlotte stopped herself from responding to that statement and instead finally gave Bart congratulations.

“You did good, Bart,” she said softly. Bart just smirked and then the two stood there in silence for a while. Finally Charlotte spoke up to break the awkward pause of conversation. “Well I don’t know about you, but I’m beat. I think we should probably go to sleep.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty tired too. Plus I don’t want to wear myself out like she said.” The two friends agreed and headed inside. Mr. Cole stopped them at the door.

“You guys, um, did good,” he said. He didn’t make any eye contact and he tried to cover his mouth but Bart could still smell the alcohol and he figured Charlotte could too.

“Thanks,” Charlotte said while giving him a face of disgust. “Let’s go Bart.” Bart followed without hesitation. When they were back at the room, Charlotte stopped at the doorway.

“I’m down the hall,” she said casually.

“Oh okay cool. Well I will see you in the morning. And thanks for not being mad at me for stealing your leaves.” Charlotte gave a small smile. Bart wondered if he should ask her about what’s going on with her dad but before he could say anything she responded.

“Oh, don’t you worry,” she said. “I will have my revenge.” They laughed a little, and then Charlotte’s face changed to one of surprise. “I almost forgot,” she yelled as she bolted down the hall. Bart was confused, but he waited for her to return. When she did, she walked in with a cupcake and one candle. Bart was shocked to see her standing here with the small dessert, but all he could do was smile.

“I forgot all about my birthday,” he said as he took the cupcake.

“Yeah,” Charlotte said. “I didn’t want you to think no one cared. It’s just with all this craziness that’s been going on we haven’t had a lot of time to celebrate. But this cake should do right?” Bart was at a loss for words. He didn’t even know where she got the cake but he didn’t care. The thought was enough for him. He smiled and blew out the candle.

“Thanks Char,” he said giving her a hug. She didn’t say anything just hugged him back.

“Alright well I’m going to sleep, so have fun eating that,” she finally said after a few moments of silence. Bart just nodded and then Charlotte walked off to bed. Bart went and sat down with his cupcake and began eating it. It didn’t last long, as he finished it within one minute. After sitting for a while just thinking about everything Bart was exhausted.

“This day was great,” he said as he got under the blanket. The fact that he was actually gifted at this wielding thing made him feel incredible. Bart has always been good at things but never a standout. He was never the best player on a sports team or the best speaker in speech class. His scores were never the highest and he was never the most popular. So the fact that he was actually really good at wielding was a big deal for him. “I’ll protect you mom,” he said to the darkness of the room. “I won’t stop training until you are home safe.” With that, he closed his eyes and for the first night time since he had been here, he didn’t have a nightmare. It was a dream. And it was about the wind.

Bart woke bright and early the next morning, eagerly awaiting the time when they could leave. He was excited about continuing his training and getting to his mother. He walked down into the large room with the picture and saw that breakfast was on the table. When he walked over to it, he began to go insane. He couldn’t believe the amounts of delicious breakfast foods he saw on the table. There were eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, mini waffles, French toast, regular toast, orange juice, apple juice, and more. Bart immediately grabbed a plate and started to dig in. To his enjoyment, the food tasted just as good as it looked, if not better. In the middle of stuffing his face, Charlotte walked in.

“Wow,” she said as she started to laugh. “Couldn’t help but be fat, huh?” Bart couldn’t laugh because his mouth was full of eggs so, he just threw a biscuit at her instead. As Charlotte walked over to the table to join him, Victoria walked in. Bart felt a little rude for the way he looked at the moment, which was much less than presentable, but it must not have bothered Victoria because all she did was smile as she came towards them.

“I guess breakfast is good,” she said. Bart just mumbled something as he continued to finish his eggs.

“What my friend is trying to say is thank you,” Charlotte said giving Bart an evil look that Bart knew meant didn’t your mom tell you not to talk with your mouth full?

“I’m glad,” Victoria said with a laugh. She let Bart and Charlotte finish their food while she began to clean up the dishes. Jonah eventually joined them, and in a half hour all the food was gone. “Well, now that everyone is well fed, I have some news for you two,” Victoria said pointing at Bart and Charlotte. After the meal that they had just had, Bart would’ve thought nothing could bring down his mood, but the look on Victoria’s face was not one that suggested she had good news to share.

“What’s up?” Charlotte asked obviously recognizing the look that Victoria had on her face as well.

“We have been in communication with Demetrius,” she responded. Bart felt his stomach tighten up. If something had happened to his mother he wouldn’t know how to handle it.

“Did something happen?” Charlotte asked before Bart had a chance to explode with anger and assumptions.

“No, no, nothing that has to do with your mother, Bart,” she said, effectively calming Bart down. Bart relaxed and silently thanked Charlotte for speaking up before he lost control prematurely. “After speaking with Demetrius, we have come to the conclusion that it would be best for us to stay here for a while longer.” Bart again could feel his anger rising. Why would Demetrius want him to wait? His training had begun, and he needed to be back with his mother. His mother needed him and waiting would do nothing but prolong their reunion.

“Why would we wait?” Bart asked trying to keep his cool.

“It would be safer here for a couple of weeks so that we can train you more. Training on the go could be extremely dangerous, especially if we actually run into trouble. Besides, if you’re picking it up so quickly, who knows what skills you’ll develop in a few more weeks of training.” Bart wanted to protest but Charlotte spoke up before he could.

“That still seems a little unfair,” she said. “The whole reason everything was okay was because we thought we would be leaving right after them. Waiting is just going to cause stress on all our parts.” Bart looked at Charlotte and mouthed the words thank you. It was clear that Bart wanted to erupt in fury, but Charlotte was playing it cool which kept him level headed at least for the time being.

“You guys have to realize that these people after Bart are no joke,” Jonah said. “Going up against them when you are anything less than ready is already hard enough. You could use all the training we have to offer and you could use it in a stress free environment.” Bart glared at Jonah and Victoria. He knew they thought they were looking out for him, but it didn’t matter. They were making things worse.

“This wouldn’t be a stress free environment,” he said finally. “I am already worried about my mom as it is. Now you want me to sit here and wait in the dark, not knowing what is going to happen? That’s a very stressful environment.”

“I understand that you’re angry, Bart, but you have to trust us when we say this is best,” said Victoria. Bart again was on the verge of losing it. The fact that they weren’t budging on their stance, and the more and more they talked about it, the angrier Bart got. He was starting to realize he was fighting a losing battle.

“Bart, maybe they’re right,” Charlotte said, startling Bart. He was sure that, at least Charlotte would stay on his side. Now she was joining the other side, and it kind of upset him. “You won’t be any good to your mother if they catch you and you aren’t ready. Remember what happened when they showed up at your house? We’re lucky we made it out of there alive.” Bart looked at her in disbelief. He wanted to scream right now but that would do him no good. Instead he just looked at the three of them with a look of shock on his face.

“Fine,” he said finally as he turned to walk out the room. “You want to stay, fine! I’ll go start practicing now.” He rushed out of the room before anyone could stop him and bumped into Mr. Cole on his way out who still smelled like alcohol. He headed to his room but stopped on the way and tried to call the wind to destroy some furniture. The wind never came, which only infuriated him more as he stormed off. All he could think about was his mother and the fact that if she woke up before he got there, she would be worried about him. He just wanted to be there for her. Now he didn’t have that opportunity. He slammed the door and sat down on the bed trying to gather his thoughts. His mind was racing, full of terrible thoughts that he knew he shouldn’t be thinking, but he couldn’t help it. All Bart could do now was to continue training and try and speed up the process. His anger was fueling him now, and to him that was enough. Bart knew that it was up to him, and he knew that no matter what, his number one goal was to get back to his mother’s side.