I Can Move Things With My Mind

As father sat the oversized metal case down, he caused a few plates to clatter as the weight of the box shook the table. 

"Honey, not on the table! We're still eating!" mother shouted.

My father just scratched his head with a wry smile, "Sorry, sorry." he said, reaching down to unlatch the case. 

I watched what he was doing intently though, I had never been so curious about what was inside of something in my entire life. 

With the clasps on the case undone, my father opened it up, filling the kitchen with cold vapor that escaped from within the box. 

Peering inside the case, I saw what looked to be a tiny vial in the middle of it enclosed by thick foam padding. There was also a small control panel on the side of the interior that showed numerous graphs and strange numbers. 

"Such a large box for such a small package." I said absentmindedly. 

Looking closer, the vial was filled with a bluish liquid that swirled around as if it had a mind of its own. It glimmered in the light of the kitchen, and it looked simply otherworldly. 

Father's voice could be heard from across the table, "The liquid needs to be kept at a stable temperature at all times, hence the case." 

He continued, "I was able to get my hands on some of that miracle water I was telling you about. With this, we should be able to start a new life somewhere. I've always wanted to live in Europe." he said calmly, as if he wasn't concerned about having such a valuable item on their kitchen table. 

I saw that my mother looked unamused, "Isn't this thing dangerous? The company will surely come looking for it." 

My father was going to say something but she wasn't having it, "It's not too late to return this. Maybe they can let things slide if you just give it back." 

Father sighed, shaking his head, "You don't understand. As soon as I parted ways with the company, it was always inevitable they would come after me. This is the only way I can ensure the safety of you two." 

In all honesty, I inwardly sided with my mother on this one. Something as ridiculous as this was bound to draw the wrong attention. Not to mention it would put us larger on the radar of such a massive organization. 

'Maybe father has a plan, he's not the type to do something without thinking it through.' I thought to myself. 

I watched as my father closed the case, cutting off the cold vapor that was slowly filling the kitchen. 

"The only reason I'm telling you all this now is because I couldn't stand to lie to my family any longer. If something were to happen to us, I at least want you to know what the reasons were." he said, his voice heavy. 

'Well, at least he has the decency to tell us about what's going on. I would hate to have died in my sleep and not even known why.' I thought. 

I saw that my mother was now silently crying, but she reached out a tender hand to my father and rested it upon his. 

"I will always love you, and regardless of what happens I will stand by your side. I trust that you know what you're doing." she said in a hushed tone. 

I suddenly stood up from the table, loudly scraping my chair on the floor. 

"Well, it seems like you have everything under control Dad. I'll leave you to it." I said, turning to leave the kitchen. 

"Kane, wait!" my mother shouted out, but my father just grabbed her hand. 

"Let him go, love. He'll need time to sort this out for himself." he said calmly. 

I snorted as I left the kitchen, heading to the front door. I slipped on my shoes and left without bothering to grab a jacket. 

It was January and literally snowing outside, but I didn't care much for the extreme cold at the moment. 

"At least put on a coat!" exclaimed mother, but I was already closing the door. 

I sighed deeply, watching my breath turn to mist in the winter air. I started walking down the street without any idea of where I was going. It was below freezing temperatures, but there was a strange heat welling up from within me preventing me from feeling the cold. 

I honestly had no idea what to think at the moment—Everything that I had known about my father was basically a lie. If he was part of some type of shady shadow organization, how many other things was he lying to us about? 

As I walked I saw that no one was outside, and the streets were devoid of any evidence of life. 

Our neighborhood in Takayama was more like a ramshackle scattering of houses. The old-school wooden Japanese architecture truly came to life during the winter seasons though. 

The snow perched atop the roofs of the homes hid the century old decay, but these older buildings held up well against the test of time. 

I looked over to my side to see what looked like green eyes peering at me from beneath the porch of one of the homes. Looking closer, I discovered that it was a cat taking shelter from the winter chill. 

The cat was as black as midnight, and its green eyes distracted me long enough to get caught off guard by the two men who were suddenly standing in front of me on the street. 

The men were wearing immaculately tailored black suits, and they seemed unaffected by the cold. One of the men was wearing sunglasses, which looked ridiculous considering that the sun was hidden by thick grey clouds. 

I was able to see the other man's eyes, though. They were firmly fixed on me, watching my every move. 

I immediately raised my guard, preparing for a fight. I had no clue who these two were, but my common sense instantly led me to connecting the dots. 

'Come on, already?! It's only been like 5 minutes since my Dad told me what was going on.' I cursed inwardly. 

The man with the glasses calmly stepped forwards, "Kane Reeds, I take it?" 

'Damn, they know who I am. There's no way I can get out of this one.' I realized.

"What's it to you?" I replied. 

"Do you know where the Serum is?" asked the strange man, watching me intently. 

'The Serum? They must be talking about that miracle water Dad was showing us.' 

"Serum? What's that, some kind of steroid?" I said, feigning ignorance. 

Suddenly, the man's glasses flashed a bright light, blinding me for a moment. 

"He's lying. Take him." he said, stepping back.

"Wait!" I shouted out, instinctively throwing a punch towards the man in glasses. 

I had honed my punches through years of continuous training, and it flew true at alarming speed. I knew that I could catch the first one off guard, doubtlessly knocking him out in a single hit. 

This just meant that I had the last one to worry about. 

However, the man with the glasses stared at my fist calmly, and I belatedly noticed that my fist was standing still in the air. 

I strained to push my fist forwards with all of my might, but it wouldn't move even an inch! 

My heart began to beat wildly as I looked to the side and saw that the other suited man had now walked up to me, and he was smiling at me with a wicked grin. 

Before I knew it, I was flying across the street at neck-breaking force, violently slamming into the road and skidding across the snow. 

I didn't even get a moment to catch my breath or stabilize myself, because I instantly felt an intense pressure envelop my entire body. I was only able to hear the sound of my own bones crunching and twisting before darkness took hold of me. 

***

An unknown amount of time later I awoke with a start, panting heavily as I strained my neck to see where I was. 

I soon realized that I couldn't actually move my neck, or any part of my body at all for that matter. Whatever strange force had taken me out earlier was clearly still in play. 

"Oh, awake already? You're a tough one aren't you." said a familiar voice off to my side, I recognized it as the man with sunglasses who had initially approached me. 

I tried to cough out a weak reply, but all that came out was blood. The blood splattered to the floor, but as it did I strained my eyes to look around me. 

They were the only thing that I could still move. 

At first glance it looked like I was in the back of some large van. From my peripheral vision I could also see a number of screens and monitors displaying various camera feeds. 

I immediately noticed that they were displaying footage or surveillance feeds from different angles outside of my house. One of the screens even seemed to be from the perspective of somebody, perhaps it was one of their agents wearing some type of body camera. 

The man in glasses spoke again, "Most of your bones should be broken. There's no point in struggling." he said coldly. 

I ignored the man, listening to the sounds of an audio feed coming through the van's speakers. 

"Ah, Mr. Reeds. It's a pleasure to meet you again." said a man with a thick European accent. 

I could barely see the camera feed from this angle, but I thought that I saw my father and mother standing in the kitchen in front of the man. 

I heard my father spit off somewhere to the side, "I can't say the same for you." 

Mother spoke up, "Who do you think you are? And where is my son?" 

The European man chuckled, "You don't have to worry about him, he's already been taken care of." 

My mother shrieked and I could see movement on the screen as my father held her back. For a brief moment I was able to see his stoic gaze that showed he was about to do something crazy. 

Before he could even move though, the man casually waved a hand. I watched as another man in a well-tailored suit promptly appeared from behind him. 

It looked like this man was wearing the same glasses as the man next to me in the van. 

My father and mother froze instantly, as if there was something holding them in place. I knew from my own experience that there actually was. 

"Richard, show Mr. Reeds what happens to people who defect from the organization." commanded the European man. 

I watched the camera feed with bated breath as I saw the man with glasses walk forwards. I choked as I saw my mother instantaneously fly through the air, smashing into the kitchen cabinets several feet away. 

Her neck snapped instantly as her body contorted into an unfathomable position, sagging down onto the floor. 

Me and my father screamed simultaneously, but blood filled my throat as I coughed, my eyes becoming blurry from tears. 

A torrent of anger and hatred filled me as I tried to thrash around, but my attacker still held a firm grasp over me with his strange power. 

"Mom! Noo!!" I sobbed, tears now streaming down my face as I shook with rage.