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My name is Kent Clark. My parents just had to go and name me Kent; my dad, being a huge Superman fan, just couldn't resist. I can't count how many times I was picked on in middle school, because of my name. See, I'm not an especially big kid. In fact, until recently, I was pretty scrawny. Being at the top of my class didn't help, either. The smart kids always get the most flak, it seems. Luckily, I never needed glasses. That would've just been the last straw.
I guess I should start with some sort of description of myself, really. I'm eighteen years old, right about five feet ten inches tall, and pretty slim. Brown hair; cut short, and blue eyes. I'm still plagued by acne most of the time, though sometimes it miraculously clears up for a week or so at a time, only to come back as quickly as it left. Lately I've built up some decent muscle structure; I actually have a six-pack now, something I never thought I'd get. Sometimes I wonder if I'm able to get into shape easier because of my ability.
That's the real reason you're reading this, of course: my ability. I'll have sent this out to all of my family and dearest friends. I suppose I should start at the beginning, I realize I haven't been very coherent this far. It's still overwhelming to think about, to tell you the truth. Here we go:
It was last summer. I woke up one morning, in my ordinary twin-size bed, to the loud, annoying buzzing of my alarm, that had somehow been knocked off of my bedside table the night before, as I discovered when I reached for the snooze button. That same drop must have turned the alarm on, because I didn't remember setting it. I rolled over, my sheet tangling around me, and fumbled on the floor for the clock radio, tracing the cord from where it came over the top of my bedside table. I had a pounding headache, whether from the alarm or from too little sleep, I didn't know. I finally found the alarm, flipped it over, hit snooze, and managed to get it back on my nightstand where it belonged. Then, of course, I rolled back over and promptly went back to sleep. I must have fallen directly into the REM stage, because I immediately entered a dreamscape.
In my dream, I was standing alone in the middle of a huge grassy meadow, with nothing but grass and the occasional patch of wildflowers for miles in any direction. I was just standing there, obviously waiting for something or someone. After about thirty seconds, I saw a sudden rustling in the grass, maybe twenty feet in front of me. Watching it, I knew it was what I'd been waiting for. The rustling grew nearer, then a furry head popped up, about ten feet away. It appeared to be an otter. It opened it's wide mouth, and spoke, “The grass is beautiful this time of year, no? But we don't have time to stand around ogling the scenery, we must be going. They near.” This being a dream, I of course thought nothing of a talking otter, but I was curious as to who he was talking about. “Who nears?”
"Enemies. Be ware of the flowers, they hide them.” Evidently this was enough information. The otter turned and began to trundle off, the way he had come. Looking over his smooth-furred shoulder, he gestured with a paw for me to follow. I nodded, and moved, keeping pace, a few feet behind the animal. With no warning whatsoever, I was suddenly jumped from behind by a heavy form, pushing me to the ground. I rolled, coming up smoothly, facing my attacker, to see what looked like an upright bison. Walking on it's hind two legs, the creature glared at me and bellowed deeply, then charged, making a strange buzzing noise in his throat. Just as I was sure he was about to hit me, I threw up my arm and gestured at him, somehow throwing him across the field, head over heels, still making that buzzing noise, until he hit the ground a good hundred yards away with a solid thud, like a sack of potatoes, and the sound quit. I looked at my hands in awe, amazed at my ability to telekinetically throw the creature with ease.
It was then that I realized that I was dreaming. Becoming fully aware now, I turned to look for the otter behind me. Seeing no sign of the little animal, I instead turned back to the bison, who was lying in a crumpled heap a hundred yards away. Focusing, I tried to lift the body with my thoughts, but I must have become too excited at that point, as I woke up, quite quickly, with a gut-wrenching falling sensation. One moment I was trying to pick up a buffalo in a huge meadow of green grass, the next I was laying in my bed, my arms moving in the gesture I had intended to make in the dream. Sighing, I shook my head. Time to get up and start the day.
It wasn't until I was up and almost fully dressed, pulling my socks on while sitting on the side of my bed, that I noticed my alarm clock. It was laying on the floor beside my door, the cord trailing behind it, unplugged. It looked like someone had thrown it clear across the room, ripping the cord out of the socket in the process. There was a mark on the wall by the door, about even with the height of my bedside table, and a piece of the plastic at the front of the clock was broken. Could someone have come into my room while I was asleep? I looked quickly at my door, sure I had locked it the night before. Sure enough, it was locked. The way my door locks, it can't be locked, then shut, either.
Then I remembered my dream. I remembered that odd buzzing noise the bison creature had made as it charged, and how I had hurled it across the meadow with telekinesis. No. It couldn't be. But... I thought back to those nights when I was younger, when I would awake from strange dreams to find that objects in my room seemed to have moved around in the night. I hadn't thought much of it at the time; either it was just my over-active imagination, which was a great possibility at the time, or my dad messing with me, as he sometimes did. My parents have a weird sense of humor at times.
I looked again at the clock radio. It had definitely been thrown, to have the front broken like that and that mark on the wall. There had been no one besides me in the room, of this I was certain. Well, I thought, what could it hurt? I raised my hand in front of me, to point at the clock radio, and slowly crooked my finger. I imagined the alarm clock slowly rising into the air, righting itself, and flying to my hand. Nothing, as expected. I shrugged. Well, it was worth a try. I stood, picked the clock up and set it on my nightstand, plugging it in. Reaching for my watch, I reset the clock radio to the correct time.
Breakfast time.
To be continued...
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