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Everything Jake #1031 “The Army?” “Yeah, the Army. Look, I feel it’s right for me… right now.” “But… but…” “It’s a done deal, Jake. I talked to the guy, it’s a done deal.” “The guy? What guy? The recruiter?” “Yeah, the Army guy. I leave in a month, if I pass the physical, which I should, I’m in great shape.” “Mitchell… isn’t there war right now? Why would you want to join the Army in the middle of a war?” Mitchell leaned back in his seat, a look of shock mixed with confusion settled on his face. Jake thought that for a second, his cousin looked a lot like him. “Why join the Army during War, Jake? To fight, that’s why. Someone’s got to do it. I feel… I feel I’ve a lot to offer with my… special talents…” “Do… do they know…” “Of course not. I’m not totally crazy. But don’t you… you especially… don’t you feel that you could bring more to the table with your powers? I mean, I’m not invulnerable and I can’t move things with my mind, but I can pop in and out of your head. I could pop in a tank driver, or a sniper. I could really make a difference, really give us an edge. Doesn’t it just make you excited to just think about it, man?” “Honestly, Mitchell, no. I’m not an Army guy. I don’t plan on using my powers for much of anything. As far as I’m concerned, I wish they didn’t even exsist.” “It shames me to hear you talk like that, coz.” “Are you working for Hector? Did O’Gara send you?” “What? What the fuck?” “I’m sorry Mitch… sorry. All I have to say to you… be careful. Whoa, déjà vu.” “Déjà vu? Why?” “I had this exact conversation with one of my friends from high school. Pete. I think you met him? Pete? He had dark hair, dark complexion, Greek, wore an overcoat a lot…” “Pete… Pete… that kid at your house… New Years?” “Yeah… right! Where you had the whole tray of Jell-O shots and tried to screw my lawn.” “I would have if it wasn’t frozen. Stupid New York. I remember Pete. Did he go into the Army?” “No, Air Force.” “So he crossed into the Blue?” “I guess he did, yeah. I had the same exact conversation with him. He was going in, and wanted me to go with him. Except he didn’t have any powers. Neither did I back then, I think…” “I have some pamphlets, just take them.” “I’m not joining the Army, Mitchell.” “Just take the literature, make me feel better.” “Okay, but I’m still not joining.” “So how do I tell my dad?” “Why don’t you telepathically tell him?” Mitchell didn’t answer right away. Jake tried to read his face, but couldn’t. A thin smile started at the edge of Mitchell’s mouth. Jake shook his head. “Dude, I was just kidding.” “I was really thinking of doing that.” “You can’t. And here’s why…” Everything Jake #1032 “If there’s one thing I learned, it’s that you have to have some form of accountability when it comes to… powers of the mind (and I hate calling it that, but will, for lack of better blah blah blah). The smallest things could have more profound effects than you think.” “I understand that.” “Obviously you don’t, or you would have never jumped into Faith.” “Why would…” “Her mind had been messed with before as direct consequence of just knowing me. I’ve… I’ve been messed into some pretty big shit I’ll tell you about later, if you want, but her mind has been tampered with. How do you know when you jumped in there you didn’t mess her up? Like revert her to a three year old or make her remember stuff when she was in the womb?” “I… I didn’t know…” “I know. But it’s what you don’t know that could hurt you. You talk about fighting for you country and all that, but you’re too chicken to tell your dad? Think there’s something wrong there?” “Wow, never thought of it like that. That’s one of the best points you’ve made.” “Thanks.” “I knew I could count on you, coz. Got that writers mind, always thinking outside the box.” “That’s a terrible way of putting it, but, thanks again.” “Heh. Want a drink? I could use a drink.” “Sure, whatcha got?” “Beer, juice, soda…” “What kind of juice?” “Orange, maybe some apple…” “I’ll have a beer.” “Ha. Good choice, me too.” Mitchell stood up and stepped over to the fridge. “What kind of beer? I have Heniken or Guinness?” “Talk about different. I’ll have the Guinness. I can’t stand Heniken.” “It’s not so bad. But you have to get it fresh. It does get skunky fast.” “It gets skunky as soon as you open the bottle.” Jake took his beer in his hands but didn’t drink from it. The cold felt good, it was getting warm in the kitchen. Jake had hoped for one of the draught bottles of Guinness, the one with the air thingy in it and it tastes like you got it from the bar? It wasn’t that kind. But, it’s still better than a Heinie. “Thanks for the beer. So, did I tell you yet, I have another uncle?” “Yeah, I think you mentioned it before.” “I might of.” “But it was your mom’s brother…” “Exactly. Is it warm in here?” “I didn’t notice.” “I’m getting warm… anyway, Hector Egan is his name, even though that wasn’t my mom’s maiden name. He’s an asshole, a real asshole. He’s got telepath also, and he could, um, they call it summoning, but I think that’s the wrong word.” “Summoning?” “It’s where he can kind of take you from you body and make it seem that your doing things like being hit by a car or being shot or shit like that. Apparently, since I was a kid, they had me on this summoning training program. Why am I telling all this to you?” “I asked, I think. It interests me, I’m kind of in a bubble here. Other people with powers fascinate me, how lucky was I when I found out my own cousin!” “I… I always thought that I got these powers from my mom. But… you have powers. So, I guess it comes from my dad’s side too.” “Unless we have the same mother.” “That’s a horrible thing to say.” “Would it surprise you? Look at us, look how close we are in appearance. I’m only four years older than you. Your sister is only two years older. I have no brothers or sisters. When my mom left, my dad never remarried or talked about having another kid. My mom got married again, but she didn’t have any kids either. To me, and the fact that we both have powers, raises all sorts of red flags…” “It’s not true.” “It has to be. Nothing else makes sense.”    
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EVERYTHING JAKE is TM & (C) 2000-2011 by Mike Rosenzweig. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
