I’ve never been in one of those sensory deprivation chambers—the ones where people float around in salt water so they can use their superpowers, or just get in touch with their inner self—but I imagined this is what that must feel like. Coming back to my body after the second Transformation serum application can only be described as otherworldly. Every fiber of my being seemed to be vibrating on a higher plane. It was both religious and supernatural at the same time.
I was aware of voices before I even opened my eyes, and it caught my attention that they sounded alarmed. I could hear Brandon and my sister for certain, and then Jamie and Elliott. In the back of my mind, I was aware that I would likely be in huge trouble for what I’d just done, but before I was even fully conscious, I knew it was worth it. Something had changed... everything had changed. And it was for the better. I can’t describe how powerful I felt, but I knew the next time I faced Holland, possibly even Daunator, the walls they’d built would not be able to keep me out.
Opening my eyes, I saw the ceiling of the makeshift operating room, which is what I expected to see. I took my time sitting up because I assumed my strength and speed had increased, and I didn’t want to rocket off of the gurney. Once I was fully upright, I looked around at four astonished faces and tried to decipher their bewilderment, but I had no idea what was causing them to look at me the way that they were.
After a moment of gaping at each other in silence, I asked, “Why are you all staring at me?”
“Cass...?”
I was still a little groggy despite my increased power, and I didn’t get what Brandon was referring to until he pressed down on my leg. Even after I dropped a couple of inches and my rear end made contact with the mattress, it took me a moment to figure it out. “Wait—what?” I asked, looking at the others.
Jamie used his doctor voice to explain to me, “You were levitating.”
My eyebrows shot up as if they had the power to defy gravity themselves. “I was what? Levitating? But how?” It was hard to take in, and I didn’t know if I should be scared or overjoyed.
“That is the million dollar question,” Elliott replied at the foot of my bed.
The idea settled over me quickly that this would be a very powerful tool. I wondered if I was capable of making other objects, other people, levitate. I wondered how heavy of an object I could lift, how far I could move it, how high I could fly.
Until I heard a stirring on the bed next to me and turned my head to see my mother’s sleeping form. And she was waking up. I remembered then that we’d had a huge fight before I decided to take matters into my own hands again. She was not going to be happy. “Oh, no....”
“Yeah, you think?” Cadence exclaimed, her arms crossed. She was shaking her head at me, and I realized that all of these people were probably super upset at me. Not nearly as angry as my parents were going to be, though.
I watched my mom slowly reanimate. Her eyes opened eventually, and she muttered, “Oh, dear,” as if she hadn’t even meant to fall asleep. I imagined she’d been sitting in one of the chairs next to my bed for most of the night and then Cadence had moved her when she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. I didn’t know what time it was, but I could tell by my sister’s disheveled appearance it was late enough to be early.
Once Liz Findley remembered where she had been, she shot out of the cot and came to stand next to me. “Cassidy Elizabeth Findley!” Getting full-named is a sure sign you’re in massive trouble. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
Seeing her face, I genuinely felt bad for having deceived her, for having tricked all of them. “I’m sorry, Mom.” I meant it. It was impossible for me to explain to her in a few moments why I had done what I did—why I needed this extra power--so I went with the route that had gotten me forgiven before, even if it wasn’t quite accurate. “I just didn’t want to be left out.”
It didn’t work. “I may have accepted that answer when you no longer wanted to attend high school or when you wanted us to let you start your training early, but this is exactly the sort of thing that I’ve been afraid of all along, that you would do something so completely dangerous—again.” She hardly even paused to take a breath, and the others all took a step back, possibly frightened themselves. “Do you have any idea what you could’ve done to yourself? Do we even know if she’s all right?”
Jamie seemed a little startled that the last question was actually aimed at him since it was also hurled out of my mom’s mouth like a titanium bullet. “I actually haven’t had the opportunity to examine her yet,” he replied, his voice a little jittery. My mom might actually be scarier than the monsters we face when she’s this mad. “I know you have all been here for an eternity waiting for her to wake up, but I think it might be best if I checked her over alone, and then I’ll let you back in the room, okay?”
I assumed he wanted to check my powers in solitude, and maybe he was being nice and giving me a moment away from my mother, although I doubted it. Jamie didn’t look too happy with me either, and I remembered his procedure was also supposed to be that night. If they’d all been waiting on me much longer than the others, then it was my fault he was delayed. I did feel bad about that.