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Chapter 8

Hero

Even though only a day had passed and Christmas was far from arriving, Hero felt that the depth and darkness of winter had passed and a new year was underway. It was as if the new shoots of spring were showing their pale green tips to the world, a new hope. Perception changed everything. Whereas before, every day at school had been a torturous eternity in hell, now every lesson flashed by in an instant. The joy expanded within his throat, aching to burst out in song and dance: Da da de da de da. He burned through every lesson at school, his mind hungry, starved from the months when all he could think about was the bullying.

The only fly in the ointment was Fi. He could feel her eyes on him in every class they shared, burning into the back of his head.

Don’t look. Don’t encourage her.

His heart was a soft peach being crushed by an iron fist.

But I want to. I want to look. I want to encourage her.

The wonderful feeling of her lips pressed into his mind. He hesitated, caught somewhere between the head and the heart. He turned his head towards her but stopped halfway.

I can’t. The training. It’s bigger than her, it’s bigger than me, and it’s bigger than all of this. I know it. I don’t know how, but I know it.

The final bell rang. He fumbled trying to put his books away in his bag and dropped them all over the floor. Less haste, more speed. He hustled to the school gates, but James wasn’t there yet.

He paced up and down inside the open gates.

Come on.

He waited.

Come on.

Finally, he saw his brother in the distance with a dark-haired girl. James had his arm around her and was whispering in her ear. He kissed her on the cheek, his hand lingering on her arm a moment longer than necessary.

Why does he get to do this and I don’t? God, I miss Fi, and it’s only been one day.

Hero looked on with envious eyes.

I guess he must’ve mastered the ability, whatever it is.

Finally, James sent the girl on her way and sauntered across to meet Hero.

‘What took so long?’ Hero asked.

‘Bloody hell, bruv, you’re keen today. It’s only five past four,’ James said, tapping his watch.

‘You don’t know what you’ve started.’

If only James realized how true that was, Hero thought as they strode through the chilly streets. He didn’t even mind getting out of breath; he was in training now, and he had things to do and places to go.

As quickly as they got there, the Light Master was already standing in the centre of the mat, as if he’d been waiting for them to arrive. Hero scurried along the wall, a little out of breath, towards the spot where they’d left their things last time.

‘Okay, Hero, you’re fast,’ called the Light Master. ‘We can agree on that, right?’

He wondered if he should put down his book bag, join the master on the mat, or something else. ‘If you say so.’

‘I do say so,’ the master said with a smile. ‘But you need to be faster. We need to get you to use all of your talent. You need to be as fast as you can be.’

Hero didn’t know what to say.

‘You don’t believe me?’

He finally decided to put down his things and sit to unlace his shoes. ‘It’s just that I don’t even think I’m fast. Nothing seems fast to me.’

‘Yes, son.’ He regarded Hero in a fatherly way, with his head tilted to one side. ‘You can be a lot faster. Come with me.’

The master walked Hero to the back of the gym and unlocked a door to a room lined with rows of black leather chaise longues. To the side of each chair was a small table holding a video monitor, a set of headphones, and what appeared to be a pair of sunglasses.

‘Sit down, son. Relax.’

Hero picked a chair and tentatively reclined, resting his back and head. The seat was comfortable. Was this a dentist’s chair? What was he gonna do? He tried to control his breathing, but he was still huffing from the walk over.

The master handed him what looked like a high-tech helmet. A dangling wire ran inside to two LCD screens. ‘Put this on.’

He did as he was told. ‘What is it?’

‘A VR helmet.’

Hero turned it over in his hands.

‘Our abilities as humans come from our brains’ perception of the world around us,’ the master said. ‘So we need to train ourselves in a way that allows our brains to perceive the world more effectively. The helmet works to train your perception.’

He slipped on the helmet and leaned forward so the master could connect the wire. ‘Okay, but how?’

‘The lights and sounds cause your brain to go into a meditative state that help you focus. They’ll make it easier to take on board the training we do here.’

He was a little worried about that, actually. Exercise hurt—like other things that happened in a dentist’s chair, for that matter. His skin felt tight, his muscles like stone, reminding him of that woman with the snakes in her hair. What was her name? Medusa.

I wonder if that’s where they got the idea.

‘Will it hurt?’

‘Not at all. In fact, you’ll probably enjoy it. Close your eyes and relax. Ready?’

He closed his eyes, struggling to look more relaxed than he felt. ‘Yes.’

The Light Master switched on the device. Multicoloured light exploded like fireworks in front of Hero’s eyes, and pulsating sound filled his ears. The sound seemed to be outside his head, even though he was wearing a helmet.

Then the rain came, the sound pouring around him. It was so relaxing that he felt a little dizzy. Gentle words floated through the water from an angel in a faraway forest: The relationship between the world and people is a simple one . . . Inside the world beat the hearts of every person, and inside every person beats the entire world . . . The love of every person has the capacity to bring the whole world together as one or to tear it into fragments that would be lost in a cosmic instant in the infiniteness that is the universe and time.

Colours folded in on themselves, creating a tunnel of light that he was speeding through. The angelic voice melted into the sound of the rain.

The lights and sounds had stopped. Hero breathed quietly. His body was like jelly, and his head pulsed with an echo of the light and sound. He was alone in the room, a single spotlight creating a pool of illumination around his chair. Through a window, he saw that night had drawn in.

The main lights flickered on when he stood up, extinguishing the spotlight. He slipped off the helmet and walked into the main gym. The Light Master was training James and two girls in sword fighting. Hero leaned against the door jamb and watched as their swords popped in and out of hazy focus as if caught by a low-speed camera.

‘Forward and rotate, forward and rotate,’ the master called. He turned his attention towards Hero. ‘How do you feel?’

‘Good. Really good,’ Hero replied.

‘Step into the ring. Let’s practise.’

Hero joined the others in the centre of the mat. James and the girls stowed their swords in a rack, then rejoined Hero and the Light Master.

‘Okay, let’s do the short form together.’

He picked his teeth. He had no idea what was going on. His mouth felt as if he’d been eating sand.

‘But what do I do? I’ve never done this before.’

‘Follow me. Trust me, you’ll get it.’

The master took up the opening pose. In silence and slow motion, he led the traditional t’ai chi short form practice of thirty- four moves. Hero copied the beautiful, arcing shapes as closely as he could. It was almost too easy. From Parting the Wild Horse’s Mane to Fan Through the Back, the moves seemed natural, as though he’d done them before.

I even know the names of these moves. This is freaking me out.

They closed the sequence with the Crossing Hands and then returned to the stance.

‘What did you think of that, Hero?’ the master asked.

‘It felt good, as if I’d actually done it before.’

‘In a way, you have.’

He frowned. ‘I don’t think so. I’m sure I’d remember, if I had.’

The master smirked. ‘Not only does the meditation open your mind, it trains you in our ways.’

Who were these people? This is like something on one of those conspiracy theory shows. Except it’s real.

‘You could think of it as reconfiguring your brain to insert knowledge.’

‘I didn’t even know that was possible.’

‘One of our greatest discoveries, actually.’

Hero glanced at James. ‘Why don’t they do this at school, then?’

The master moved away from the centre of the mat. ‘The rest of the world hasn’t caught up with us yet, son. And we should all be thankful for that.’

‘You don’t know the half of it, bruv.’ James was grinning at him.

He did his best not to look as self-conscious as he felt.

‘Let’s take a look at how you did your first time,’ the master said. ‘Come on.’

The Light Master beckoned Hero to the video monitor at the edge of the gym and pressed Play.

Hero watched for a moment and shrugged. ‘Looks like it’s stuck on fast forward.’

‘No, Hero, it isn’t.’

‘Eh?’

‘It’s not on fast forward.’

He peered at the video playback. ‘It can’t be. That’s impossible.’

‘Look closely. You can see the dust moving away from your body.’

The master was right. Shock waves rippled away from him with every motion.

‘That is how fast you move. And in time, you’ll move even faster.’

Hero stared at the recording. He thought he’d performed the short form as precisely and accurately as a brain surgeon, but in fact, he’d been moving so fast that his image blurred as the video struggled to keep up.

‘But I wasn’t even trying.’

‘Exactly. It’s taken us many years to work out that it takes no effort at all. Once we realised that, we managed to even the balance a bit.’

‘Balance? What do you mean?’

The Light Master and James exchanged glances. The air became thick, and for a moment it seemed as if time had paused.

‘Tell me, Hero, has anything unusual happened to you recently?’ the Light Master asked.

Hero was silent, still trying to digest what he’d seen. There was something else at work here. ‘Well, apart from being bullied . . . Although I’m not sure that’s unusual, exactly.’

The Light Master returned his tentative smile, then became sombre. ‘I think you know what I mean.’

Hero nervously glanced between the people on the mat.

‘The voices,’ he said at last.

‘And what do those voices say?’ the master asked.

‘They say, “We are the Light. Join us.”’

Everyone in the gym was staring at him now.

‘I heard them earlier, during the meditation. They were saying something about the beating heart of the world. I can’t really remember.’

The master nodded. ‘We call it the voice. Although it does sound like there are many, it is in fact only one voice.’

The hairs along the back of Hero’s neck stood up. ‘Wait—you’ve heard it too?’

‘Of course. We all hear it, and it seems to say the same thing. It’s particularly strong during meditation because your mind is open.’

‘I thought I was going mad. But what does it mean?’

‘The voice instructs us on the right thing to do. But come on, Hero, you’re an intelligent guy. Let’s see if you can work it out.’

Hero rubbed his temples. ‘Well, if you’re the Light Master—and obviously there’re other people, so you’re not the only one—so . . . The Light isn’t a thing? It’s a group?’

‘And?’

‘We’re connected? We’ve all got something in common?’

‘And what do you suppose that might be?’

He already knew the answer. ‘We’re all fast? Really fast?’ His eyes widened. ‘We’ve all got the same ability.’

But the Light Master’s expression suggested he was expecting something else.

‘It’s more than that, isn’t it?’

‘Yes.’

‘What?’

The master had begun to pace up and down the edge of the mat. ‘Our ability. It’s not that we’re fast. It’s that we can all slow down time.’

Hero glanced at James then back at the Light Master. They’re having me on. He started to smile. It got broader and broader until laughter bubbled over. The master blinked at Hero, unmoved, but James was smiling as if sharing the joke. This was one of James’s cheeky gags.

‘You’re not serious.’

‘I’m deadly serious, son.’ If this was a joke, then the master was not part of it.

‘But I don’t slow down time,’ Hero said. ‘Nothing goes slower for me.’

‘It doesn’t seem faster or slower to you because you actually change time. You’ve done it your whole life—you’ve just never noticed it before. But after training with us, you will notice it. You’ll notice it a great deal.’

Hero looked away uncomfortably. The man was daft.

‘I’m not a fan of parlour tricks, but let me convince you,’ the master said quietly.

And then he was gone.

‘Behind you,’ a voice whispered in Hero’s ear.

Hero whipped around. The Light Master was just behind him, his mouth to Hero’s ear.

James cackled. ‘Don’t worry, bruv, I nearly shat my pants when he did that to me.’

Hero giggled, mostly with relief.

The master circled around and retook his position in front of Hero. ‘Now, can you understand why you can’t be close to anyone during this very delicate time?’

Hero shook his head.

‘Think about it, son. If you slowed down time like I did just then, how fast would you be moving? I’ve told you that this happens when you get emotional. Imagine if you got emotional while you were kissing that girl. What do you think would happen?’

Hero’s hand flew to his mouth and nose to cover his shock.

‘That’s right, son. You could smash her face right off—and the worst part is you wouldn’t be hurt yourself.’

He squinted. Theoretically, he was following this. But in practice?

‘When we slow time, there’s an energy field that protects us,’ the Light Master said. ‘We can extend it around others, but that takes control you don’t have right now.’

‘But you’ll teach me, right?’

The master nodded.

‘And then I could—for example—go back to Fi?’

James burst out laughing. ‘Subtle, bruv.’

The master grinned, shaking his head. ‘Yes, Hero, you could.’ He became serious again. ‘But you might want to think that through.’

Hero frowned.

‘Hurting someone accidentally is not the worst thing that can happen.’

‘It’s hard to imagine how that could be true,’ Hero muttered.

‘Really?’ James stabbed a finger towards him. ‘What do you think would happen if someone like Fi found out you had a superpower like this? Do you think she’d hang around? You know what kids are like. She’d scream “freak” at the top of her voice.’

James was right. Hero felt powerless to do anything but stare.

‘And that’s why it’s important that nobody sees us jump in and out of the time dilation,’ the master said.

‘Why would they even see that?’

‘Because as you change time, there’s a point at which, from other people’s point of view, you’ll appear to be jumping erratically from place to place. I disappeared right in front of your eyes, remember?’

Hmm, he hadn’t thought about that. ‘But who cares? So what if people know that we’re different?’

‘Can you imagine what a government would do with one of us?’

He shrugged.

‘There’d be people that would come for you, put you in a lab, and dissect your brain so fast your feet wouldn’t even touch the floor. Then they’d hound the rest of us to the ends of the earth. They’d never stop, ever.’

That was probably true. They’d want to understand us, if only to send us—but wait, no no no.

‘Even if they did find us, so what?’ Hero asked. ‘We could dilate time and walk right past them, surely.’

The master gave him a disdainful look. ‘Do you really want to live a life where you’re constantly looking over your shoulder into the shadows? And forget the government—what do you think regular people would do if they found out about us?’

Hero’s skin tingled as he tried to take it all in. Looking over my shoulder—that’s exactly the life I don’t want. That’s why I’m here.

The master kept pressing. ‘Have you heard of the Spanish Inquisition? Or the Witchfinder General, burning people at the stake?’

‘People aren’t like that anymore.’

‘Really? So, you don’t think there’s any stigma attached with being a Muslim, then? Or homosexual?’

‘Oh.’

‘Sure, the target group changes every so often, but one thing you can guarantee is that if you’re different, you’re going to be in that group. And no one is more different than we are.’

He knew this was all true. He’d seen how kids treated boys who were a little effeminate, or shy, or different in some other way.

‘I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to relocate my gym. That’s why I sleep in this place. I daren’t go outside often, in case I’m recognised.’ The Light Master breathed out heavily as if he were exhausted. ‘I’m talking about people with pillowcases over their heads and torches in their hands. Burning torches. I really don’t want to have to move again, Hero. I like it here.’

‘Are you sure you’re not just seeing the worst of humanity?’

The Light Master smirked. ‘Don’t worry, Hero, you’ll see things this way too.’