Happy Birthday, You're A Freak

14 : Research

Taylor was bent on trying to help me with my new found powers. So he dragged me to the library and we were surrounded by piles of books weighing down the table. Every few minutes or so he would make an exclamation about how much of an oddity I was.

Groaning I let my head slump to the table and I just lay there. My hair was pulled back into a pony tail and I was uncomfortable in the sweat pants and long sleeve cotton shirt I just so happened to be wearing when Taylor pulled me out of the bedroom. I had just gotten out of bed and was stretching luxuriously when he burst in the room, exclaiming he was glad I was dressed and promptly told me I was coming with him.

He had reluctantly let me brush my teeth and hair before walking with a death grip on my hand. He filled me in on his research as we walked.

And here we are, him still slaving over books and chattering away when he finds something interesting. Since we agreed not to tell anyone he’s trying to teach me through books. It’s nothing working out so well.

‘Taylor? Maybe we should get someone to teach me. We should tell the headmaster.” I tried to persuade him, to no avail since he shook his head forcefully and instructed me to attempt to read his mind.

'The book says you should concentrate all your energy into this task, and that I'll know it has happened when your eyes are mostly gold. Try again. Truthfully I hadn't been trying at all, so I sat up straighter and actually tried this time. Almost without effort I was in his mind and I could probe through the memories and thoughts he had lurking there, for a moment he looked eager for it to work, and then his eyes widened and he made a silent scream as he watched my eyes. I used another power to see what he was seeing, and watched my own eyes flash from gold to a mixture of silvery-gold. A gasp escapes and I'm mesmerized by my eyes for a moment before pulling out of Taylor. He's panting heavily and I notice a patch of sweat on his forehead and upper lip. It seems to be more work for the person whose mind I'm diving into.

Taylor blinked at me a moment opened his mouth and said 'Was that, supposed to happen?' and to answer all I could do was shrug because I definitely didn't have an answer. Although this seemed to displease him, he reached for the large book that lay on the table between us and started flipping though the pages, more scanning the words than actually reading them. Finally, after a few minutes his brow furrowed as he read a page, then two and when he was about to start page three he looked up and had an expression on his face that could only be described as a mix of curiosity and awe.

'What is it?' I asked, sounding weary to my own ears. He looked at me a bit more intently before sliding the book across the table and pointing out where to read.

Side – effects and their causes

More often than not, the victim of 'mind reading' will not experience a form of reaction to even knowing about their mind's being infiltrated. This is mostly due to lack of experience and power in the reader.

Although it has been known to happen that the victim will feel the presence of another mind within their own but when this occurs they are powerless to the reader. Whom has complete access to everything they have ever known and to what they are currently thinking. Temporary loss of sight, temporary loss of hearing, lightheadedness, nausea, and headaches are all side affects that may occur once after a reading has occurred. In extreme cases, where the reader is powerful enough to control the mind, the victim falls completely under a spell, which would make them a living puppet to the reader.