Revolutionary Motives

“So, I have a couple of papers and an assessment due,” Aaron said to Miche and Campbell, barely coherent through his mouthful of sushi.

“How exactly are you going to finish that?” Campbell asked, taking a bite out of his burger.

“Oh, I’ve already started the papers,” Aaron replied, his mouth still full.

“How do you do that?” Miche asked, eyes wide and sipping her drink.

“Make sure there’s not enough food in my mouth so you’ll actually know what I say?” Aaron responded after swallowing his food.

“No… I mean…” Miche started, until she noticed Aaron eating again. “Whatever.”

“That’s my line!” Aaron scowled at her, his words barely intelligible.

Suddenly, a pink flash of light surrounded the trio.

“I need you,” A mysterious dark-skinned girl said to Aaron.

“Say what now?” he asked, before they both disappeared.

“What the hell!” Aaron yelled, crashing into a ground covered in sand.

“You’re the key to turning this rebellion in the right direction,” a woman’s voice spoke to him, the same one from the cafeteria.

“Are you sure about that?” He looked up and saw a beautiful, strong woman standing before him.
“Yes. I would not have brought you with me were I not sure,” she responded.

“Okay then…” Aaron stood, dusting off his jeans. “Who are you exactly?”

“No time for that. Please, follow me,” she beckoned.

Aaron probed her mind to sense any danger. What he found was surprising. The woman’s intentions were genuine. She strongly believed he could help her people.

“Arie, what is this?” he asked her. She quickly spun around to face him, her expression full of anger and surprise.

“You should not know my name,” she said.

“I’m a telepath,” he shrugged.

“I didn’t realize…” Arie thought for a moment. “You are going to be more useful than I thought.”

“Uh…” Aaron stepped back.

“If you are a telepath, then you know what I am asking,” she stared at him.

“Not exactly,” he shrugged.

“If you know my name, why not everything else?”

“You teleported me to a place I’m not even sure is in my own country. I only probed for danger. I caught a glimpse of who you are and what you’re doing, but not exactly why. I only go as far as I have to, if I use my telepathy on others at all.”

“Noble.” Arie turned around and began walking. Aaron had no idea where he was, so he had no choice but to follow her. At least he knew he wasn’t in danger.

“So, are you going to tell me the rest of the story?” he asked.

“My country is in the middle of a conflict. Or, rather a larger scale conflict than usual.”

“Are we where I think we are?” Aaron asked. The images he managed to catch in Arie’s head were familiar when he first saw them, but now he was beginning to realize why.

“Yes.” Arie nodded. “This is Talakh.”

“I’ve read a little bit about this conflict, but I don’t understand its magnitude or why it’s happening.”

“It’s happening because my people are tired of a government that does not truly look after them and abuses them.”

“Many people are beginning to feel that way about America, too.”

“While your nation is not just, this is unfortunately not the same kind of circumstance. Our voices are systematically and violently silenced. We live in a comfortable fear. People are afraid to speak out. But, one voice finally did. Though she was shot down, a movement lives on in her name.”

“So why do you need me?”

“Because Xeloc employs men with unnatural power. Like mine, except teleportation doesn’t help much in this situation.”

“You sure? I believe that every meta can use his or her abilities to be of benefit, not matter how useless they may seem.”

“Yes. It was not enough to help moth—Yes. I’m sure.”

“Arie…?” Aaron reached toward her. She avoided the contact and walked a bit quicker than Aaron. She was silent for a moment, until Aaron sped toward her.
“You can talk to me about this. I catch some of it in people on accident anyway.”

“The woman who sparked the revolution? She was my mother. My powers could not help her as she was gunned down. She sent me to America to make sure I was educated. I was too far away to do anything for her. I was watching a live feed of her; she had made international news for speaking out so publicly against the government. Then… I watched the guns fire on her, her body falling to the ground…” she tried to stifle her tears. Aaron pulled her in to him, eliciting a weak smile from her.

“So, where did I come in?” Aaron said after moments of silence.

“I had heard stories about you at the university. A lot more people know about what you’ve been doing than you realize.”

“I do need to exercise a bit more discretion…”

“Well, your lack of discretion gave me the idea that you could possibly help.”

“Arie, I’ve had a hard enough time with isolated fights. I’m not sure I have the power to help you.”

“I wasn’t sure who would be able to help me. You were my best and only option.”

“Oh…” Aaron said, his confidence waning.

“I said the best. If I did not have faith in you, I would not have brought you with me.”

“You’ve only heard stories about me. How do you know those are even true?”

“Because I wouldn’t know these stories at all had you not saved Blink.”