The ESP'er - Chapter 1
 

http://www.menewsha.com/forum/art/li...ogue-done.html is where the story begins. For those who might have liked the prologue, I'm back and I fully intend to finish the story whenever I can. I just hope I can finish it before the rest of my Summer Break is over XD

So to recap: Ray is a youth who has been tested for the capability of ESP (Extrasensory Perception), which is the ability to see into the future (procognition), past (retrocognition), or other people's thoughts and memories along with the ability to imprint thoughts of your own (telepathy). The examiner, James Timber, and his boss, Levin Bradley, are taking him from his parents so that they may conduct their own tests to further their research on parapsychology.

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The sun was setting just across the waves as they licked at the sand before them, casting a fiery reflection of the light it emitted. Ray's young eyes watched over those waves while the light reflected off of them was visible in his irises. Their sounds echoed loudly, yet calmly, in Ray's ears. How he missed those waves. Even though the last time he could see them he couldn't even swim; he just wanted to hear the sound of them to prove he still had a little freedom left in a life that was dominated by some sort of schedule. It was a dream, and he knew it.

The reality that he was still in the institute remained strongly in his mind. Even as Ray stepped forward and heard the crumbling of the sand beneath his foot, he knew too well it wasn't real. Often he thought that was one of the "perks" about being an Extrasensory Perception User, an ESP'er, that he could remain conscious enough even while sleeping to find a thought and emphasize it until it felt more real than any dream.

He could feel the wind whipping at his short blonde hair, so much darker than it was when he was little, but it wasn't enough. The vision of light reflecting off the ocean waves in his green eyes, he knew it would never be enough. Because reality was so much more realistic than this. So much more imperfect than this perfect little scene. Ray bit down on his tongue, the pain bringing him out of his trance and back into his bed.

He struggled shortly, fighting the sheets off of him until he could sit upright. Ray breathed in the air of his room, another reminder he was in the institute. He'd been there for ten years now, and his fifteenth birthday was just the week before.

Somehow, the room had never seemed darker than now. Why did he always choose those thoughts when he went to sleep? It was only recently that Ray had begun to think about being home again, or in the least getting freedom from this accursed place. More than ever it felt like a prison. He fell back onto the pillow, staring aimlessly at the ceiling. For a few moments it seemed as though he'd fall asleep again, but determination kept him awake. Any minute now a knocking will come from the door, he knew it instinctively.

The clock on his bedside table read 6:59AM. Ray grabbed for his glasses and laid back down, his vision now better since he could see without everything being so blurred. Any minute now... He shut his eyes tightly. The boy didn't want this day to begin. Just a few more seconds... Same schedule as before. The same one day after day, there were so few variables of his life. When to wake up, when to start testing, when to go to sleep. Right about...now. A knock at the door sounded through the room.

"Ray. Time to get up." Said the familiar voice of James Timber beyond the door.

I don't want to, thought Ray. Why should I have to? What's keeping me pinned to these things? This repetition is boring. He angrily turned over in the bed, eyes shut tightly again.

Another knock. "C'mon! The day's beginning!"

Please. Just shut up. Resisted his mind. He pulled the pillow over his ears angrily, trying to shut out the man's voice.

"Raymond, get up! We don't have time for this!" Asserted James Timber. "If you're not awake-"

He was cut off as Ray unexpectedly yelled back. "I know what will happen if I'm not!" Immediately the youth sat upright, looking towards the door with an expression of anger. "I'll- I'll be out in a sec. I'm sorry." Regret for yelling like he had and for taking his frustration out on the only person who had shown to care about the boy for so long, Ray got up on shaky legs.

Outside, James Timber sighed. He knew it was only a matter of time before Raymond would snap at him, but that had never stopped him from being the teen's friend. After all, everyone rebelled from time to time. Whether they were just going through that stage, or they just felt like raising trouble. Timber himself still poked fun at his boss whenever he had the chance, and spared the researchers of the study no reprieve in his presence. A trouble maker born to be, James Timber.

Although he himself was now in his early thirties, Timber's appearance and personality differed very little from what it was on that day ten years ago; something he reveled in. Raven hair that he now let grow out to almost shoulder length, but kept neatly trimmed and taken care of. His gray eyes still had a mischievous glint in them, a hint to what sort of enjoyment he got from causing trouble for others. For Raymond, James Timber had been a guiding light that kept things from being too boring, while at the same time allowing him to keep his frustration in check.

"And remember to bring your jacket. We'll be having a couple tests outside today and Mother Nature is giving us the coldest shoulder of the year." He yelled through the door to make sure the boy could hear him. The only response he had was something along the lines of "yeah yeah, blah blah". Well, if he ends up frozen I can't be blamed. Thought the man with a smirk.

Ray finally emerged from his room, dressed in a white long-sleeved shirt with black windbreakers and tennis shoes, as well as a thick gray hoodie wrapped around his waist. "So what sort of tests would we be having in this cold weather then?" He asked, closing the door.

"The kind you're gonna love when we get outside, and hate by the time we begin." James responded, smiling impishly as he led Ray down the hallway. "C'mon, breakfast first, warm-ups after that, and tests later."

"Oh, gee, ya mean I can't go freeze my butt off before we eat? Darn." Ray returned the impish smile with sarcasm, something he'd often enjoyed using whenever he thought himself capable of getting away with it. Then again, there had been more than one occasion in which James had actually thrown him face first into the cold before they ate breakfast, emphasis on "thrown".

James mocked a gesture of dread. "I know. I was oh so hoping to bury you in snow and leave you to rot. Or better yet, turn you into a snowman and pretend to lose you so that you could die a cold, lonely death. But I guess I'll have to wait some other time for that."

Ray stopped a few paces behind the man. "It's snowing today?" He asked, smiling gleefully.

"Maybe." Answered James enigmatically. "And if we finish the tests early, I'll be glad to beat you in a snowball fight."