Fragment of Destiny

In his mind’s eye, Demetrius could still see Tess’s face. Every feature seemed to leap out at him all at once. Without reasonable effort, his mind recalled everything about her. He could even count the individual flecks in her eyes, and each individual strand of hair. Yet as consumed by the thought of her as he was, there was a part of him that could still see the real world. The long line of grey uniforms trailing off towards the school of intellect. Someone was speaking to him and instantly reality snapped to the forefront of his mind.

“Instructor Barrett’s class is room number four.”

At once Demetrius felt himself slip away into the recesses of his mind. Instead of returning to the vivid image of Tess, he found himself in the hallway of a low cast apartment.

“…I am pretty sure Samuel lives in room number four on this level,” He could hear Brian’s voice so clearly even as he turned to see the look of anger on Tess’s face. This was the part when she yelled.

“Hay! Back off him!”

Tess had taken on bullies before but never four at once. He found himself watching again with protest not even reaching the edges of his teeth by the time Tess had started her assault. It was a funny thing to think but he was sure this memory had not been so clear before.

Without warning a set of double doors stood open in front of him leading down into a small auditorium-style classroom. Demetrius paused for a moment as he looked around. He felt a chill wash over him as he remembered each step through the twisting halls of the school and didn’t at the same time. An illuminated sign above the door shone with the number four. Breaking contact with his pendant Demetrius let it rest against the front of his shirt. He felt like himself again. Though now there was a nagging feeling of something missing along with a growing ache in the back of his skull. He did his best to put it from his mind as he opened the door. There was a moment of despair and his gut sank as he looked out over the packed class. It seemed like far too many people to all share the same ability. For a fleeting moment, he had been special, but with so many others he would surely be nothing but the dregs again, and this time without Tess.

A large man in an enforcer’s uniform entered the room. He eyed Demetrius as he passed as if to say “In or out.”

Demetrius quickly slipped in behind the instructor to the nearest open seat. A stillness like ice fell over the students as the large man approached the instructor's desk at the head of the room.

“I am Lead Instructor Barrett and welcome to my class, Demetrius Cross…” The instructor said then wrote something on his desk. Demetrius jolted upright in his seat as if he had been stung. The class had only started and already the instructor was calling him out for not paying attention. But it was not just him who the instructor called on. Each student, in turn, was called.

“…Well now that we all know each other. Your first assignment will be to write down as many names and seat locations of your fellow students as you are able to remember. On your desk, you will find a template of the classroom. When you are done, press submit, and we will see how well you did.”

Demetrius saw other students begin typing at once. He looked around the room at all the unfamiliar faces. He knew none of them. He stared at the desk his mind as blank as the template in front of him. Nodding to himself Demetrius placed the pendant under his shirt once more. Like removing the cap from a shaken soda, a flood of names exploded in his mind.

Silas Naroman, Jeb Konimoth, Sandra Fesworth… Quick as he could go the names came, faster and faster, until each slot was filled. He smiled so wide he could taste blood on his tongue from where his chapped bottom lip had split open. This feeling was incredible. He had not even been in contact with his crystal nor had he paid attention to the names, yet he still knew each one and was sure of each answer.

A vision of Tess still sitting there in the auditorium crowded his mind. He could see her face set with intensity as she returned to her assessment. The thought of just how beautiful she was nearly overpowered him. At once he could feel his face flush and his legs begin to turn to jelly. On reflex, he clutched at his shirt and lifted the pendant away from his chest. Instantly the memory became fuzzy the way it had always been before his crystal.

Looking around the room he could see others with eyes glazed over as they stared blankly at their desks or off into space. So, he was not the only one susceptible to overpowering memories. Instructor Barrett was moving through the room row by row placing a hand on the lost students. At his touch, they seemed to return to reality as if freed from a spell.

After making his rounds Barrett called the exercise to a close. “Most of you did very well. A few, however, are in the wrong class. Victor, Cynthia, and Michael, please come to the front.”

Demetrius felt bad for them. Not only had the instructor subjected them to public humiliation, but even worse they would be starting at square one all over again. Barrett spoke a few quick words to the trio before excusing them from the class.

“Now those of you, who are left, are actually supposed to be here. As you may have noticed from this exercise, your memories are particularly vivid, lifelike even. Often you can find yourself at a loss as to which is real. If this happens, there is an easy solution. Break contact with your crystal. After which your mind will revert to normal. You may have noticed some of your fellow students seemed to gloss over, or perhaps it happened to you. This is caused by a memory loop or memory chain. Reliving the same memory over and over or hopping from one memory to the next, respectively. Either way, you will need to be broken out. External stimulus such as a touch or sharp sound will do the trick. Over time you will become adept at identifying and breaking out on your own. However, this is the most difficult aspect of this ability to master. Even to this day some of my former students have decided to forgo grafting because of the inherent danger.”

Demetrius had heard of people who never had their crystal grafted, but he had never considered it was because they could not control their ability. At once fear began to gnaw at him. He had never been good at this sort of thing. If anyone failed to master their ability, he knew it would be him. Even as he thought this a part of him rose up in protest. He had not waded through that pit of darkness and death for countless hours to end up that way. There he vowed that no matter the cost he would master his crystal.

Then the instructors booming voice brought him back to reality. “I want everyone to break into teams of two. You will be practicing identifying memory loops and memory chains. If you get caught in one, your partner will break you out. Trade off until I call time. You may begin,” Barrett said.

“Want to be a team?” Asked the boy in the row ahead of him.

“Sure, I’m Demetrius by the way nice to meet you,” Demetrius said on reflex holding out his hand.

The boy just looked at him then laughed. “I know who you are,” He said rolling his eyes. “And you should know who I am we both just did the same exercise.”

Right, he should, but he didn’t. Demetrius adjusted his pendant and immediately the name came to him. “Silas, right?”

“Call me Si.”

“Alright, Si. How about you go first?”

Si nodded and began looking intently at Demetrius' face. Demetrius could not tell if he was just staring or if he was caught in a loop already. He waved a hand in Si’s face. Nothing. He tapped Si on the head like a melon and his distant expression became animated once more.

“How long was I out?”

“Not long. It took me a minute to realize you were stuck, and not just really focusing on my nose,” They both laughed.

“Alright, your turn.”

Demetrius took a deep breath and thought of Tess. In an instant, he knew he had been caught, one thought leading to another, and then another. Each memory so real, it was like being there all over again. Si put a hand on his shoulder and shook him. He knew it was Si doing it, but instead of breaking him free it brought a memory of Tess placing a hand on his shoulder. It was an eerie feeling. He was aware of his senses outside of the chain but in a nebulous and insubstantial way. He heard a loud smack and the memory shattered jolting him back to the present. The massive form of instructor Barrett loomed in the aisle beside him.

“If your partner does not respond to a touch, you can shake them or clap your hands next to their ears if you must. Some chains or loops are more powerful than others. It all depends on what you get caught thinking about. Continue.”

“Man are you ok?” Si asked.

Yes, he was ok for now, but he knew now that Tess would be a danger to him going forward. Yet how could he possibly keep her from his mind? Even now he could see her as if she were standing right next to him.

“I’m fine I think,” Demetrius said forcing himself to focus on Si instead. It was difficult but he managed. If having to forgo grafting had not been enough of an incentive to master his ability, the thought of being forced to run Tess from his mind made his resolve absolute. He would not spend his life crippled by the thought of his best friend.