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side.
     
    “What do you mean ‘test you’ and who do you think he works for?”
     
    “I don’t know, one of the many people I was responsible for sending to prison would be a good start.” she said sarcastically.  “I can’t point out one person for you, Dad.  I’ve pissed off so many people by locking them up and even more by busting drug dealers.” She paused thinking there might be something to that statement, but decided to push it onto the back burner until her mind wasn’t so jumbled and foggy.  “If Luke would have listened to me, we wouldn’t be having this conversation in the first place.  That jerk, whoever he was, would be behind bars.” Anger mixed with exhaustion was turning her mood dark.  Thoughts of living the rest of her life looking over her shoulder until this creep was caught were not taking her to a happy place.
     
    “You shouldn’t be so hard on Luke, if he had not come along when he did…God, I don’t want to think about what might have happened.” James sat down in a chair next to Nicole’s bed placing his elbows on his knees and rubbing his temples with his palms.  “Speaking of Luke, he had quite a story to tell me when I got here.  He said he knew something was wrong with you because some supernatural force drew him to you.  Then he asked if I you had ever said anything about feeling different from other people.” He let his hands drop down to his lap and leaned back in the chair.  “I blew him off like I didn’t have a clue what he was getting at.  Nicole…do you think this is a new part of your gift and maybe that was what the test was about?”
     
    Nicole didn’t know what to say, shock and confusion were evident on her face because she didn’t remember anything unusual happening.  Well, outside the “normal” unusual thing her mind does already.  She was scared, trapped and hopeless, but suddenly the man just stopped.  She remembered hearing his footsteps approaching her while listening to him plan out how he was going to finish her, and then there was nothing.  He was gone without another sound.  She thought of Luke in those moments before she heard the sirens.  Regrets of turning him down for breakfast had flashed through her mind, thoughts of how her morning might have turned out a little bit better if she wasn’t so damn stubborn when it came to Luke.
     
    “I don’t remember anything strange happening… I heard the guy’s thoughts when he started to take aim at me, then the cat and mouse game started.  There wasn’t much time to focus on anything else.  Besides, Luke stayed out late last night so I’m sure he was just exhausted and reading more into it than there actually was.” Secretly she hoped that was all there was to it.  An uneasy tightness formed in her chest and her stomach twisted when she pondered the possibility that her ‘gift’ might be growing into something else.  She hadn’t wanted this responsibility in its basic form, let alone a new one.  And what did that guy mean by testing her?
     
    She began thinking about the night on that Florida beach years ago when a man, well she was sure he was no normal man, brought her to her knees with a power that put her in the hospital.  It seemed to ripple off him in waves, crashing into her body over and over again.  She remembered his glowing red eyes being the last thing she saw that night.  His words, the first she ever heard inside of her mind, still haunted her to this day, always reminding her she would one day face that power again.  “ I have awakened you and one day, I will come back to take you and all the power you hold.  When the time is right, I will find you again.”
     
    Sensing her discomfort, James stood up, stretching out his stiff body and rolling his tight shoulders.  There was a lot they needed to figure out but it would have to wait a little longer.  “You look tired, baby, try to get some rest while I go talk to the doctor.” he patted her