Away From the Sun by Jason D. Morrow Page A

knowing what to do with it. What I said in the meeting still sounds like a good idea to me. Smash it. Get rid of it. Would Shadowface really kill me out of spite if I did such a thing? What would be the point?
    I unscrew the canister and look at the glass vial inside.  
    Blood. Blood of a Starborn. I wonder who it might have come from. If he or she is dead or still alive. I’m assuming dead. And the power…the power must be particularly unique if someone is willing to kill over it. I think about myself. Would someone kill over my power? I nearly laugh at the thought. I would almost kill just so I didn’t have it. I don’t like seeing the future. Especially when that future consists of the death of people I care about.  
    Like Ethan.  
    The thought of him being shot in the middle of the street plays in my mind over and over. I can’t get it out. And every time I see his face, I’m reminded that I need to keep a close watch on him. Though last night proved that I can change the future I see, it doesn’t mean it’s easy. And the feeling of regret fills me every time I think about how I could have tried to save Lucas. But I was so shocked the first time it happened that I didn’t know what to do.
    I now look at a flash of the future as a warning for me to spring into action. Only once did I see a future that had a positive outcome, and that was when Ethan and I had been sitting next to a fire and a greyskin came up on us. I had grabbed Ethan’s hand and a white flash burned in front of my eyes and I saw him kill the greyskin. I now know that I could have done something to change it, or leave the future as I saw it.  
    No other vision has been good. There was Lucas. Hank. Gilbert. I feel like there must have been something I could have done for each of them. At least Hank wasn’t dead. He was only missing a hand. But that was a moment when I tried to change what I saw in my future and couldn’t.  
    I wish I could talk to someone about this, but there isn’t anyone that would understand. Ethan knows, and I’m pretty sure Gabe knows, but it’s not like I can talk to them about it. They wouldn’t know what to say. I wouldn’t know what to talk about. I know that if I told Ethan about the vision that I saw of him, he would just tell me not to worry so much; that we would figure it out.  
    But it isn’t that simple. I assume the only reason I was able to change the future I saw with Scarecrow was because it directly involved me. I was in the situation and the outcome was based off my decision. That being the case, I changed my mind. So, the outcome changed. It seems to me that I can’t change anyone’s future unless I am directly involved with the vision.
    But I can’t think that way about Ethan. Though I may have not been in the vision, that doesn’t mean I can’t do something. I am still so new to this ability, so I know that it will just take some thought and preparation. My ability is not meaningless, or useless. It is there for me to change the outcome. It’s just a puzzle that I have to solve.
    An unfamiliar smell hits my nostrils. It’s like smoke mixed with something I can’t place. I look up and jump slightly when I see Jeremiah standing in the doorway.  
    “I didn’t mean to startle you,” he says. “Stephen told me where I could stay, but he didn’t show me. I guess I’m in the wrong place.”
    I shrug. “I don’t really know what to tell you. I haven’t been here much longer than you have.”
    He nods, smiling. He leans against the doorframe and looks down at the floor. I can’t help but stare at his face. His eyes look tired. Maybe like he’s having an allergic reaction to something. He seems pale, too. He looks up at me again and I turn my eyes down.  
    “What you have in your hands is very powerful,” he says.
    “But you don’t know what power it holds?” I ask.  
    He shakes his head. “Wish I did.”
    “So, all I have to do is drink this and I’ll have whatever