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much clearer now. It was easier to return to my real self this time, knowing what it was supposed to feel like. I kicked myself for not running away when I could, before Ralph had come back. I had wanted to confront him and make sure he really was a controller. I realized that even when he wasn’t directly controlling me, he had manipulated my actions through my fears and my curiosity. It was stupid of me. My escape plan had been foolhardy at best. Ralph wasn’t just some crazy old man. He was a powerful psionic. He had killed the berserker. He was a fighter.
    I tugged at the chain, but it was futile. Drained of my powers, I was not even as strong as a normal twelve-year-old boy. The chain felt increasingly heavy around my neck.
    Ralph had said that the “gathering” was in two days, so we would probably be staying another night here. When Ralph woke up, I would be put back under his control, which meant I wouldn’t try to escape even if I had the chance. Ralph had done enough shopping already. He wouldn’t leave me alone again.
    Ralph’s power as a controller wasn’t at all like the berserker’s. The berserker could cause pain and make people angry. Ralph did the opposite. He made me calm and trusting, and made the world seem peaceful and dull. How could I fight that?
    I’d have to learn to block it. That’s what Ralph had said. He said anyone could block controllers, but that it took time and practice. I already knew I could block Ralph by not looking into his eyes, but that was just the nature of Ralph’s power. He could block the berserker completely. How did he do it? The obvious answer was to simply stay focused. But how?
    I didn’t know how to block it, nor could I hope to learn in one night, but there was another way that was much simpler. And I already knew the answer because it was around my neck! The difference between Ralph’s control and the berserker’s didn’t matter at all. It was how they were similar. Metal drained my powers, but it also drained my emotions, which, just like my physical strength, were tied to my powers now. Draining broke the connection. Ralph’s control over me had weakened when he put the chain on me. The only reason his control didn’t break then and there was because Ralph was still looking into my eyes. As soon as Ralph lay on his bed and well before he fell asleep, the metal had drained my emotions and the control was broken.
    When Ralph talked to me, that is, when he looked at me, he was using his power to suppress my feelings, but he didn’t do it continuously. He just did it often enough so that I wouldn’t come back to being myself. If I could drain myself when he wasn’t looking, I’d snap out of his control, and then... Well, I’d have to think of that later.
    I was getting very sleepy now. The chain felt heavier than ever.
    I looked at the bedside table and saw what I wanted: a cheap plastic ballpoint hotel pen lying next to the lamp. The metal tip would be too small to affect me very much, but maybe, just maybe, it would keep me sane. I reached over and picked it up, feeling nauseous from even such little movement. Slowly pulling the cap off, I slipped the pen deep into my sweatpants pocket with the tip pointing outwards.
    Unable to keep my eyes open any longer, I desperately prayed that I wouldn’t die in my sleep. A moment later, I woke up.
    Ralph was leaning over me, unlocking the chain. The sunlight streaming in through the curtains was horribly cold, but I felt my strength return and looked up at Ralph, who peered into my eyes and smiled.
    “Did you have a good night’s sleep, lad?” he asked pleasantly.
    “Actually, I think I had a strange dream,” I told him.
    “I’ll make us some breakfast. You go wash up now.”
    “Okay,” I said, going into the bathroom and closing the door.
    The faucet handle was made of metal. Not wanting to be drained, I wrapped it in toilet paper before turning on the water. After splashing some cold water onto my