Avoiding a Recurring Nightmare

[Cole Kessler]

DREAM SEQUENCE

The noise drowned out from Cole's ears as a jet flew overhead. He couldn't move at all, he willed to, he tried to, but could not. It was as if gravity and the weight of his burdened soul held him in place. Even as fires raged and explosions erupted around him, he couldn't do anything to stop it. It was madness, apocalyptic, and it made his heart ache. The images were so vibrant, so real that he felt he could touch them if he reached out and tried. All he could do was watch as everyone he loved, cared about, or even knew or associated with was hacked, shot, or blown away by weapons of which he'd never seen before. First Taeyeon, then Zac, Naomi, Anna, Sam, his parents. Tears fell from his face as he was forced to watch it. He couldn't tear his eyes away from it no matter how much he wanted to.

In the background he could see out over the valley surrounding Pilot Ridge, the view he'd seen many times from the mountain side. His heart was being ripped apart by what he could see. The valley wasn't as it always looked. It was a barren wasteland, stripped of all forestry, buildings, and life. Everything in his life was being ripped away and he couldn't do anything to stop it. It was Cole's most feared realization ever: He was helpless.

END SEQUENCE

Cole roared angrily as he awoke at daybreak. The nightmare seemed to be occuring more and more often as time passed. He shifted his body and placed his feet on the floor then he elbows to his knees and finally his head in his hands. His breathing was short, quick. Sweat drenched his body and his bed's sheets. He stood up and looked toward the window, the sun rose over the peaceful horizon and lit the landscape beautifully. The sight relaxed him enough to take a shower and so he did.

Once the shower was finished and he was dressed, he headed down to his car and headed to the school. He didn't waste any time singing a song or relaxing on the drive, he couldn't really. The images from the dream haunted his thoughts on the drive, doing more to disturb or anger him than anything could to distract or relax him.

As the Firebreather roared to a silence when he parked it, Cole immediately headed for the Traning Rooms. He hadn't been in there since the incident that night in Naomi's company and figured it would help him. He realized something that made him smirk a bit: The only time he ever came to the training room was to avoid bad thoughts or anything that hurt him to think about. Taeyeon in both instances, the news about his brother, numerous other little things that bothered him even.

He opened the main doors to find he was the only one there. This early in the morning it wasn't really a shocking realization. He walked down the center corridor looking for his station that he'd built to help him train. Once there he set it all up and made it look a bit different from the last time. The rubber padded saw-horse sat far on the other side and another rubber pad hung against the wall. Cole wasn't sure what he was going to do today, but he had to do something. He threw off his hoodie and hat, sat his backpack full of spare clothing on the ground, and went to work.

[Naomi Green]

Routine training had become part of Naomi's life anymore. She generally tried to avoid people, finding them to be unnecessary distractions. However, there were notable exceptions, Cole Kessler being one. So when she was walking by and noticed Kessler unloading and prepping for a session, she redirected herself into that room.

She'd already dressed for training, which made her look decidedly different from normal. Meaning that she wore the standard exercise pants in a dark blue and a tank top that was only a shade or two lighter. Hair pulled up and the only thing on her face being a determined expression. They hadn't exactly trained together since Kessler had lost control, but Naomi had encountered other people utilizing their powers, specifically another electric user.

"Don't you look pleasant," commented Naomi. She adjusted some fingerless gloves that she'd grabbed this time. The reason for that would be evident quite soon, as she fully intended to manipulate some metal bars that were in the corner.

"It has been a while,' she continued, still not looking at him. She raised a hand, calling forth a bar until it thudded against her palm. "How have you been?"

Could her power bend the bar? Something to consider, to be sure.

[Cole Kessler]

Cole had been in his own little world when Naomi had come into the room, but her voice shot him back into reality. "You don't look half-bad yourself, gorgeous." Cole smirked as he finished setting all of his assets in place. Normally he would've sat and meditated for a bit, but a combination of fear and Naomi's presence made him hesitate. He didn't want to get lost in meditation and the nightmare occur again, especially not here where his reaction would be publicized.

He bent his right arm at the elbow and clenched his right hand into a fist. He could feel the pulsing of his power coursing through him and it felt really good for some reason. He stopped just short of making it manifest physically and looked back to her, "It has been a while, yeah. Hopefully we won't have a repeat incident of the last time we were here together." He joked, trying to calm his inner-self and lighten the mood a bit.

Then her next question came. She had to ask how he'd been didn't she? At first he wasn't sure how to respond to her. Should he tell her? Or save the burden of his nightmare's for himself? Finally, he spoke up, "Eh, I've had better days..... And nights." Cole explained, hoping that it would be left at that, "How about you?"

[Naomi Green]

And nights? Naomi raised a brow, but knew it wasn't her place to pry. If Kessler wanted to share, he would. Naomi was certainly not going to pull it out of him. Unlike his power. Her little encounter in the research laboratory had been most revealing on that. She even waved her hand toward him, as if seeing if she could draw it out. He certainly seemed slightly charged already, but then again, he was beginning to train.

"Things have been going quite well," she said. Naomi had already uncovered some information, determined how far into the research laboratory she could get before being found out, discovered that it was more likely a hapless student would do so. Then there had been the discoveries about Zac and his little glowworm, and the strange visit from Miss Halifax. "Quite interesting, actually, and beyond my expectations."

She flexed her hand, thrusting it out. She caught hold of a few bars of metal, pulling them out. Slightly heftier, and certainly more weight than she'd had last time, but less individual targets. Besides, Naomi was all about pushing boundaries.

"I did discover that there are other electrokinetics at the school," she said. Not that he didn't already know that. "It also seems as though my power has some effect on them."

She hovered a metal bar till it hovered in front of Kessler's chest, and she quirked a brow, almost smirking.

[Cole Kessler]

Cole looked at the small, solid, metal cylinder that hovered in front of him. She spoke about how she'd learned her power had effects on the other electrokinetics and it puzzled Cole. IT wasn't that he didn't understand, he just wanted to know how she'd come to make that little discovery.

"You seek to further test that effect here, sweetheart? I'm intrigued." Cole said with a smile, "And I just need to know one thing, Naomi." Cole said as he paced around the room. More and more thoughts, various instances, raced through his mind. He met her eyes once, but ripped his from the gaze. All he could see was the images of her being mutilated and ripped apart piece by piece. He winced at the pain that the thoughts and images sent through his body.

Finally he continued: "What do you need me to do?" A simple question, masking the sadness in his voice. Hopefully she wouldn't pick up on it.

[Naomi Green]

"I'm interested to see whether it was a one time occurrence, or whether our abilities feed off one another," said Naomi. She followed Kessler with her eyes, keeping the bar steady while he moved. The meeting with Roland had been accidental, and not something that Naomi could repeat. There had certainly been a connection there, the electricity and the magnetism interacting quite purposefully with one another.

Could she do it now though?

Strange, but seeing Kessler's look made Naomi shift. There was something there, a sadness that she was just picking up on. She didn't care; she shouldn't care; it was certainly none of her business and most definitely not something that would have any real impact on what they were doing here at all. Or would it? Yes, perhaps she should ask, to uncover whether or not this was enough to distract Kessler from the task at hand.

"Begin by channeling your power through the bar," said Naomi. She kept her eyes on it, finding it easier to focus on metal than a person. "The other electrokinetic felt his power actually drawn to mine, and to me. If this is true, then your power should easily deal with the metal. Perhaps we can even see if I can control your current somehow."

Supposedly it was possible for the magnet to draw out the shock, and Naomi kept that in mind, even glancing at Kessler and thinking of implications.

[Cole Kessler]

"Not really sure I'm comfortable with you controlling me, sweetheart." Cole laughed as he started channeling, "Unless it's in a certain way." He joked with a smile and then focused. He curled both of his arms at the elbows; both hands clenched into fists.

He felt his heartrate pick up and the bloodflow sped through his body. He could see his pulse in his wrists as every pump of his heart forced the blood to move forward. His breathing grew shorter, faster even as he channeled more and more.

He was ready, he wanted to see ust what she meant by her possibly controlling his electrical current. But just when he reached peak channel, the visions from the nightmare came back. Cole's channeled power ceased and his body nearly collapsed as he knelt down and cupped his head in his hands. His breathing slowed and became more drawn out as he tried harder and harder to relax. He didn't move, he didn't look up, he didn't cry. He held his emotions in check and only spoke two words, "I'm sorry."

[Naomi Green]

"How do you know I'm not already controlling you?" replied Naomi, smiling wryly. Truthfully, she wasn't doing anything overt to Kessler. For one thing, she found him more useful as a thinking, willing being than a drone. There were other people for that. For another, well, she was a teenage girl at the end of the day, and Kessler was an attractive young man.

The electricity was coming, flowing through and around Kessler again. Naomi made certain to extend her hand toward Kessler as he did so, utilizing her power to try and balance it out. Supposedly she drew electrokinetics to her, or had with the other. If this were true, than theoretically, Naomi should be able to draw it.

In theory.

Yet just as the power was starting to channel, Kessler stopped. He looked weary, even more so than he had before Naomi came in. She sighed in frustration, lowering her hand. Complaints and reprimands sprung to her lips, but she swallowed them down.

"What is bothering you?" she asked, nearly making it sound more like a demand. "You have been acting off since I walked in on you. It's quite disconcerting."

[Cole Kessler]

Cole's breathing was still very slow and drawn out. His pulse was finallly starting to calm itself to the normal rate that he was almost vocally begging for at this point. The sooner he got calmed down the sooner he could talk. Finally, one tear broke through his emotional barrier and slid down his right cheek. He brought his head up through his hands and wiped it away before looking at her.

He took a few seconds to collect himself before speaking and his forearms rested on his knees. "This dream I had last night...." Cole said, "Well more of a nightmare really." He said, trying to keep his voice from breaking. His emotions ran high, trying to pour out, but he refused to let them, "Last night wasn't the first time, though. It all started about two weeks ago, but it wasn't night after night like it has been recently. Nor was it everytime I close my eyes and try to focus like it has been today."

Cole bounced up and walked over to his backpack. He reached down and grabbed a bottle of water from the mesh pocket on its side. After taking a drink he continued: "The nightmare..... It fucks with my head too much for me to focus on anything. " Cole said, "Pardon my french, Madam." Cole paused, knowing she would have more questions. He needed a moment to prepare the explanation and so he merely took another drink of his water.

[Naomi Green]

The tear was most telling, and it made Naomi shift, even frown slightly. What could possibly break Kessler down to such an extent that he would cry in front of a girl? True, they were allies, friends of a sort, but this seemed like some kind of breaking point. One that made Naomi suddenly feel decidedly less icy than normal.

Nonetheless, she remained silent as Kessler explained. A dream, a nightmare, one that had been plaguing him. The time frame fixed itself in Naomi's mind, and she nearly winced. It felt too close to certain other events. Far more likely that this was something else entirely though. What had Kessler experienced that would result in such a dream? He'd described his initial outburst, but surely it hadn't been enough to warrant this.

"Have you considered getting help?" asked Naomi, following Kessler with her eyes. "There are telepaths and others here more than willing to provide assistance and aid to such matters."

Not to mention friends willing to listen, though Naomi was hardly the type to suggest something like that. She continued to watch as Kessler took a drink, elaborating further on his situation.

"Vous êtes tout pardonné*," she replied, even waving it off. "But your words were hardly French."

A slight smile, though Naomi crossed her arms, almost as if hugging herself for some reason. "Perhaps if you described the dream it would help? Such things are often less imposing when brought into the light."

While other things only got worse.

*You are quite forgiven

[Cole Kessler]

Cole looked at her, "I don't trust myself with my own thoughts. Let alone someone else, Naomi. Thanks for the suggestion though." He said, taking another drink and dropping his water bottle on top of his bag. Silence fell over them as she waited for an answer he was still trying to figure out how to explain. The long silence finally broken as Cole began speaking, "It starts like almost all of my other dreams. Calm, peaceful, vibrant as if I'm looking at it presently." He began.

He started pacing as he continued, "But then.... it's almost like a movie sequence where there's a bright flash followed by a vision of horror." He said and paused, then spoke again, "There's a bright flash and suddenly I can't move. The landscape I'd been looking at moments before is barren and hardly recognizable unless you know the contours of the hills. It's like the apocalypse appears from thin air."

Cole paused as the images recurred again, but at his will this time. He only did this to give Naomi an accuarate explanation of everything, "I try to move around, to explore, but I can't. I will parts of my body to move, but nothing will budge. Finally, as if on cue, my head is released by whatever held it, but that's all." Cole looked to her to make sure she was still paying attention to his rambling explanation, "And as I start to look around I see horrors I pray to the good Lord I will never really see. I'm forced to watch everyone I've ever known from ex-girlfriends to mere aquaintances be gunned down mercilessly. And that's not the worst part. The worst part is that I can't do anything to stop it, that I'm helpless and alone." Cole felt the swelling of emotion, but held it back as he was at last done with the recollection of the nightmare.

[Naomi Green]

"Understandable," said Naomi. She was hardly a fan of the psychologists here at Hammel herself. Her visits had left a bad taste in her mouth, particularly with the constant mental vigilance. Naomi didn't want to voice her concerns, not at the moment. Kessler had his own demons to grapple with, without Naomi pointing out those lurking in the corner.

A peaceful dream, then one that turned into something of a tragedy, something out of a horror film. It felt slightly prophetic, and Naomi briefly wondered if Kessler was having visions. That wasn't his gift though, and Naomi had never heard of an electrokinetic receiving visions of this kind. Unless there was a telepath sending out messages or meddling with people's dreams.

"Now you haven't angered anyone with mental abilities, have you?" asked Naomi, extending a hand. "Because those people are likely to have retaliated by attacking your dreams," it was highly likely that someone here would do something like that. Naomi wasn't sure if she wanted to recruit them, or drive a coin through their heads.

"I feel I should also mention that you're hardly alone," said Naomi. She still wasn't quite looking at Kessler, but looking about, as though she expected the culprit of this heinous crime to arrive at any minute. "You have friends. Ru-ru, for example. And me."

Naomi supposed she was Kessler's friend. Their relationship was rather... nebulous.

[Cole Kessler]

"Angered anyone?" Cole thought back, "I don't talk to anyone other than the core group of people I know right now. And I don't think you or Ru-Ru would sell me out. I don't think I've met or have known anyone who's telepathic." Cole said, "Though, I suppose I can't rule out the possibility." Cole said as he began to recollect himself.

He paced some more as he tried to think of what else to say or do. He took a seat on the rubber mat that was the floor of the training room. He crossed his legs and did what he could to relax and focus, trying to regain that level of concentration he'd had so many times before. Before he got too highly focused, he looked to the woman who semi-consoled him and spoke, "I'll try and keep focused. Let's get back to training though." He said and closed his eyes once again. Slowly, but surely, he began to channel the neuro-electric energy within his body, combining it with the static in the air and his clothes. The hairs on his arms and neck stood almost as if at attention.



(OOC: I'mn sorry this is so late and crappy. Had a pretty rough couple of weeks. Things are good now, and I'll post more rapidly again.)

[Naomi Green]

It wouldn't have surprised Naomi to discover that "Ru-Ru" had, in fact, sold them out, but she wasn't about to disillusion Kessler. She'd simply ask Zac, politely, the next time she saw him. There were things they needed to discuss anyway, so there was no point in putting off such an encounter.

Still, Naomi didn't think this was enough to relax, though she supposed she could understand Kessler's desire to simply put it behind him. She nodded, a short, nearly curt nod, but a nod nonetheless. If someone was screwing with one of Naomi's friends, they would discover the error of that action. The hard way.

"Indeed," said Naomi. She moved her hand, slowly directing the metal rods so they hovered about Kessler. This time, she placed them strategically, balancing them around Kessler: each at a corner. "It's a matter of working together, of letting our powers channel into one another. Should be easy enough."

Again, the thought that her power might actually be attracting someone with Kessler's power, possibly even Kessler himself, that thought buzzed into Naomi's brain. She shook her head slightly. She had just been berating Kessler for being distracted; she hardly needed to do the same.

{hey man, no worries. Three days is nothing. No stress here.}