Excerpt: Running To Stand Still

“I… thank you,” Sally said, standing up. She paused for a second, standing still and watching the other people around here as they performed amazing feats, looking unsure of what to do with herself. Finally she closed her eyes, and her long hair changed from blonde to red, then orange, then blue. As I watched, her hair started shimmering all the colours of the rainbow, changing and merging in intricate patterns. She opened her eyes, and brought a handful of her hair forward so she could have a look. Seeing her hair shift and change, she smiled. “What do you think?”

“It’s beautiful,” James said, before turning around and hopping onto the edge of the fountain and turning around to address everybody. “Could I have your attention please? Could the newly awakened people come down and stand in front of me?” I did as James asked, as did everyone else who had been awakened. Everybody else gathered around to hear what James had to say. There were quite a few news crews by this point, and the sheer amount of faces and cameras pointing in my direction probably would have worried me before the events of this day. Before I woke up.

“This is just the beginning. You have seen these people do amazing feats, not moments after the potential in them had been unleashed. I intend to give these gifts to every single person in the world who wants them. This is not something that will be controlled, or bartered, or only given to those who can afford the fee. If you want to do these things, you only need to seek me out. And what you have seen today is nothing compared to what you can do with this power given time and practice. We stand on the edge of a new world. A better world. And with the help of everyone, it can be realised. Thank you.”

As James said those words, I looked out at the assembled crowd and beamed with pride. The awe that they felt was evident in their faces, and I was a part of that. At that moment, I believed everything James said. We were on the cusp of a new world, and I was a part of the very beginning of that new world. I knew things could only get better for me.

I was a fool.