Relic by Steve Whibley Page B

question with resentment, but not now. My sister would’ve been killed by a BMW, and Mr. Cosler would’ve been killed by his pretzel if we hadn’t intervened. Still, the question remained, but it was with fear that I asked it. Fear that I wouldn’t like the answer, or that it would put terrible pressure on me. My eyes locked with Archer’s, and he lifted an eyebrow. I stepped forward, hesitating for a minute before I spoke.
    â€œWhy me?” I asked finally.
    Lisa and Colin stopped fighting and turned their attention to Archer. They’d probably wondered the same thing.
    Archer contemplated the sky. The rain splattered against the side of the truck. After long seconds, he turned back to me. “I’d like to give you an answer, Dean. But the truth is I really don’t know why you were chosen. We’ve gone back and forth about that at the Society. Everyone has an opinion. Maybe it was because you helped Vidmar. Maybe he saw something in you. Or maybe he’d been so badly beaten that he didn’t realize what he was doing.”
    â€œYou think he made a mistake?” The words fell out of my mouth before I realized I was speaking, and I felt my face warm at having exposed my insecurity.
    â€œNo,” Archer said without pause. “Not at all. You tried to save your neighbor, and you actually saved your sister and that guy at the mall…”
    â€œArnold Cosler,” Colin said.
    Archer pointed at Colin and nodded. “Arnold Cosler, right, he’d be dead right now if you three hadn’t intervened.” He shook his head. “No, Dean, there isn’t a person in the Society who won’t welcome you. You’re the right kid to have the gift, but I’ve no idea how Vidmar knew that.” He drummed his fingers in time with the rain.
    â€œDid he have to give it to me?” I asked. “I mean, did he have to give it to someone before he died? Is that one of the rules or something?”
    Archer shook his head. “It was his gift to give. There aren’t any rules about it. But we have a process for vetting and training people who might be good for the Society. A process that prepares them for what they’ll experience.”
    â€œWhy not just give it to everyone?” Lisa asked. “Wouldn’t the world be a better place if everyone had it?”
    Archer shook his head. “Even if that were possible—and it’s not—it wouldn’t be a good idea. People aren’t all the same, Lisa. Some people would use the gift for their own benefit. Others would just go insane with the visions or the failures. It would be cruel to give it to just anyone. It should be a choice.” He looked back at me. “It should’ve been a choice for you too. It was a choice for me, one I almost didn’t make. And I’ve seen dozens of people go through the training only to turn down the gift in the end. It’s not an easy way to live.”
    â€œDo you ever regret it?” I asked.
    â€œAccepting the gift?” Archer asked. “There are moments when I feel like maybe I’m not the best person for this. But I’ve saved a lot of people, Dean. I don’t regret accepting it. At least, I haven’t yet.”
    â€œSo no one is going to take it away from him?” Colin asked. “Because he’s too young or something?”
    â€œThey couldn’t even if they wanted to,” Archer answered.
    In a blink, my chest warmed with relief, and at the same time my stomach knotted with fear. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I’d expected there to be a way to remove the gift if I decided I didn’t want it. But suddenly I realized that I did want it, no matter how hard or strange it would make my life.
    A thunderous boom directly overhead made me jump, and the rain became fat drops. We were getting drenched, and rain was pounding the side of the ice cream truck, soaking Archer and the stuff just