Read Online To Be Free by Marie-Ange Langlois - Free Book Online Page A

ghosts of hikers past, and even
beyond that before this became a tourist hotspot. When he continues
on, talking about when she came to tell him she was pregnant, the
ghosts fade back to the past and the constricting vise around my
lungs loosens, allowing me to breathe deeply again.
    The rush of oxygen almost
forces me to my knees, but instead I press my hands to my forehead
and push my fringe back, looking into concerned hazel eyes that
have gone so many different shades of brown and green since I've
met him.
    His voice fades away as he
realizes I'm back up to speed, and he leans forward in his seat
again, the concern never leaving him.
    "Are you alright; you looked as
if you were in physical pain there for a second," he questions, and
I nod weakly as I walk back to the boulder, sitting on its rough
surface with a grateful sigh. Quinn hands me his canteen, and I
take it with a breathless thanks, gulping the cool liquid down and
forcing myself to take smaller swallows than I want to take, so I
don't choke.
    "I'll survive," I mutter,
handing him the half-empty canteen with a thanks. Setting it
nearby, he turns to face me a little more fully while I lean my
forearms against my thighs, hands limp between my legs as I watch
the rain drip from the leaves. A few drops run down my neck, and I
welcome the cool. "It's... a side-effect, I guess, of my gift. I
can control it on most days, but it sneaks up on me most of the
time and I can't really control it no matter how hard I try. When
I'm agitated, it's worse."
    "What does it do?" I close my
eyes at his inquiry, propping an elbow on my thigh to push my
fringe from my eyes and look at the mud at my feet.
    "Time becomes fluid; past,
present and future happenings become one, and I can see each
happening around me - I can hear the words spoken, the sounds made,
the smells, everything - and the ghosts of the past and future walk
around me," I sigh, closing my eyes. "Believe me when I say it's
complete chaos."
    He's quiet for a moment, simply
watching me as I gather my strength again and take a much-needed
breather. Then, he speaks again.
    "Does this... happen with every
gift?"
    This I smile slightly to,
shrugging a shoulder and wincing at the stab of pain that attacks
me from the gesture.
    "It depends;
every one of our abilities has different setbacks. I know Five was
always insanely tired after using his, and Eight was weak as a
newborn kitten for hours," I tell him, looking up at him afterwards
and quirking an eyebrow. "As for you... I haven't noticed anything
after your initiation , so to speak. Any findings?"
    Quinn frowns, looking towards
the forest opposite our perch for a moment, his bag of dried fruit
forgotten in his lap - quick as I can, I snatch it from his hand
and tip a few of the unsavoury pieces into my hand, handing it back
after. He simply arches an eyebrow, and says no word on the
matter.
    As I chew on the tasteless
pieces, he answers.
    "I... there
was so much pain," he admits, looking to the bag of half-empty
fruit in his hand as if he's never seen anything quite like it. "It
hurt to breathe and there was so much confusion - I didn't know who
I was or where I
was for a second. I felt the heat against my skin and inside my veins,
igniting my nerves; the hissing cold of rain on me, a brilliant
contrast; I couldn't hear anything. It felt as if there was a
storm inside me."
    I nod throughout his entire
explanation, chewing my lower lip thoughtfully.
    "There are
different ways to use our abilities," I start carefully, looking to
my hand and stretching my fingers. "They have radars they use to
pinpoint the location someone uses these gifts, though I don't
quite understand the technology behind it, so I made sure to hide
just how strong
temporal shenanigans can be."
    "...and how powerful can these
be?" he prompts, and I grin at him.
    "I could send you back to your
hometown in an instant, and you'd appear there in the present," I
reply with a laugh tacked to the end. His