The Shining Light
Chapter 2:
I had been having the same dream every night for 2 weeks. I was sick to death of the black cloud, the dreadful feelings involved and waking up screaming. And to top it all off I had been having headaches ever since the dream started. It had started off as a dull throb the first day and grew steadily each day until it was unbearable, like it was now.
I had endured another day of work, every second of it agony. Pain killers didn't work so I had taken to reading to take my mind off the excruciating hammering in my head. But I had read every book I own at least 5 times each. So I decided to go looking for some new books to buy. I decided to go to the second hand book shop. There were usually some really good books there for great prices.
I had been browsing the books for quite a while and was about to give up and go see what was in the new bookstore down the road when something caught my eye. I don't know why it caught my eye. It was an odd looking book. It was an old book, off white in colour. It wasn't shabby like you expect with an old book, but something about it screamed ancient.
I pulled it off the shelf and turned it up to see the front cover. There was an 8 pointed star in the middle of the cover, surrounded by lines that looked like rays of light. There was no colour except the off white, but that just made the design more beautiful. I couldn't see a title on the cover so I opened the book and scanned the first few pages. To my surprise they were blank. In fact, every page was blank. It seemed odd to me that there would be an empty book in a second hand book store. A charity store sure, but here?
I'm not sure how long I was standing there studying this blank book. I was so engrossed by it that I didn't realize someone was standing beside me. "Can I help you with anything there?" the store assistant asked, startling me out of my reverie.
"Sure," I replied. "I'd like to buy this book, please."
"Ok just come up to the register," the assistant said,
The shop assistant was confused since there was no record of the book anywhere in the store so he sold it to me for 2 dollars. I don't know why I bought it since I was after something to read and the book itself was empty, but something compelled me. I just had to have it. With the book in my hand I left the store and headed back to my car. I was about to head home when I remembered that Rebecca, Greg's fiancé, wanted me to stop in and see her at work for something. It was an extra half hour out of my way to home but I figured it must be something important otherwise she would have waited till she got home to talk to me. So I headed to the next town over and arrived at the bar where she worked. When I got inside there was only one person behind the counter.
"Hey Ben," I greeted the bar tender. "How are you?"
"Hey Jack," he replied. "I'm alright. Would be better if I didn't have to work though."
"I know the feeling," I said. "Is Beck around?" I asked him.
"Yeah she's in the cellar doing the stock," he said. "You remember where it is, don't you?"
"Yeah," I answered.
I had worked in this bar for a while before I moved on to greener pastures. I wasn't really a people person and it showed while I was working here. Some of the customers complained about me. Not satisfied that I wouldn't strike up a conversation with them every time they came in. When the boss mentioned this to me I decided to look for work somewhere else. He was sorry to see me go because I pretty much ran the place for him and he had to train Beck to do it instead. But an establishment like this was all about the customers and he understood why I left.
I headed behind the bar and down to the back rooms. I found the cellar door closed so I opened it quietly, thinking of scaring Beck. I tiptoed down the stairs and stopped at the bottom. I hadn't made a sound so far. I walked forwards nice and slow, listening for where Beck might be. That's when I heard something. It sounded like panting, with a few low moans every now and then. I also heard a quiet slapping sound.
I crept forwards and stopped behind a tower of beer cases. The noises were louder and I could tell they were coming from behind the row of beer I was behind. I leant around the cases slightly so I could see what was behind them. What I saw made me sick. There was Beck, her back to me with her panties around her ankles and bent over a keg, her boss behind her with his shorts around his knees, his bare ass moving back and forth, pounding his cock in and out of Beck's pussy. They were both moaning, trying to keep the noise down so no one upstairs would hear them.
I didn't stick around to see anymore. I slowly retreated so they wouldn't here me. Once I was upstairs I ran out of the bar and bolted toward my car. I reached the car park and had to stop. I leant against a car, I don't know whose, and broke down. How could she do this? How could she cheat on Greg? How could she cheat on the hottest, funniest, nicest man in the world? This was going to break his heart. I was so mad at the thought of her breaking his heart that my face started turning red. I could feel the heat coming off my skin. I was hyperventilating and the pain in my head was growing. I felt like I was about to explode.
And that's what seemed to happen. It was like all the pressure that had been building inside me just burst through my skin. I saw a wave of heat radiate from my body and slam into the cars I was in between. The windows of the cars exploded out, like they would if a bomb had gone off. Both cars lifted off the ground, spinning away from me, over the tops of the cars next to them. While they were in the air they both burst into flames with a deafening boom, shattering the windows of the cars currently underneath them. The cars in the air both landed about 10 meters away from me, crushing the roofs of the cars they landed on.
It had only taken a split second for all of this to occur but to me it felt like it was in slow motion. I swear an ant could have crawled those 10 meters in half the time it took the cars to land.
I stood there for a moment, stunned, unable to believe what had just occurred. What had just happened? Was it really me who destroyed those cars? How did I do it? I knew I couldn't stick around. There would be questions asked that I couldn't answer. I took one last look at the cars, the flames coming out of them moving impossibly slow, and I ran. I ran to the back of the car park, to where my car was. I jumped in and took off as fast as I could. But something was wrong. My car was moving so slow. I was going about a walking pace even though my foot was flat to the floor. I glanced up to see if anyone could see me and what I saw shocked me. There was a dog running away from the explosion site, but it was running in slow motion. It was suspended in the air, its legs spread out like it was halfway through a leap. I watched as its legs came down and touched the ground before leaping again. But it was impossibly slow.
That's when I realized that I was moving faster than the rest of the world. I could see pieces of the cars that had exploded floating slowly to the ground, the flames coming from the cars barely flickering, my car still moving at barely a walking pace. I tried to calm myself, to get a grip on the panic that was rising in me. I slowed my breathing and concentrated on the road in front of my car. That's when everything sped up again. My car was going at the speed expected when your foot is flat to the floor. It disoriented me but I managed to blast out of the car park and get control of my car and myself before I could crash.
I managed to make it home unscathed, which was a miracle considering how fast I was driving. Greg wasn't home yet so I had the house to myself. I trudged inside and went straight to my room, collapsing on my bed. I was exhausted, what ever happened today drained me of most my strength. My headache came back with a vengeance. With everything that happened during the afternoon I hadn't even notice that it had gone. I thought about it and realized I last noticed my headache just before I exploded. That was my last thought before the pain in my head peaked and knocked me out.
I woke up a few hours later. My head still felt like it was splitting open but I couldn't do anything about it. I got out of bed and went to get a glass of water. I walked passed the phone and noticed the answering machine was flashing. I hit the play button and it was Beck.
"Hey Jack, why didn't you come see me? Oh well, doesn't matter. Just letting you know I'm working a double shift and won't be coming home tonight. I figured since Greg is camping away I'll just stay here. Alright, bye."
Shit! I had forgotten Greg was camping away for work. "Oh well," I thought. At least now I had some time to figure out what I was going to say about Beck cheating.
After grabbing a glass of water I went out to my car and got my blank book. I don't know why but I was drawn to it. I can't explain it exactly but I felt like it was calling to me. I went back inside and sat at the island at the back of the living room and put the book in front of me. I looked at the symbol on the cover again. The 8 pointed star with the rays of light around it. I ran my fingers over the symbol and found that it was raised slightly.
I don't know why but I found myself opening the cover again, even though I knew the pages were blank. So it came as a surprise to find that there was writing on the first page. I thought perhaps I had missed this page when I first opened it at the store. I began reading and what I found quiet disturbing.
"Dear Jack," it said. "I know this will come as quiet a shock to you but this book was created for you. I don't expect you will believe it right away but, with time, you will understand everything within these pages and will know your true destiny. This book contains some of my knowledge and understanding of magic.
The headaches you are experiencing are a product of your magical powers manifesting themselves within you. If left unchecked your powers will start knocking you unconscious and once that starts to happen you will have only a matter of days before they kill you. Now the next page will teach you how to center your power and will stop the headaches for a time if you can master the technique. But be warned, if you cannot find a mage to teach you how to control your magic then the headaches will return within a few months.
Most of the magic within this book is extremely advanced, so it would be unwise for you to read too far ahead. Due to this I have placed wards on the spells so that you can only see the ones you are capable of performing. You will understand more about these wards when you begin your training.
I have written you more letters to help you understand your powers and your destiny and have hidden them within this book. They will reveal themselves to you as you gain more knowledge and understanding of your abilities. Be careful Jack because you are more important than you know.
Signed,
The Shining Light.