Pulse

now.”
    Dylan felt Faith let out a small laugh.
    “I don’t know if I can deal with this.”
    “You’re strong. You’ll be fine.”
    Faith loosened her grip slightly, felt the same weightlessness she’d felt on the ground.
    “I’m still scared,” she said.
    “Do me a favor and keep your eyes open,” Dylan said. “I want you to see something.”
    Faith lifted her head off Dylan’s back and peeked over his shoulder as he turned in the air. They had been facing away from the Western State, but now they could see it full-on. It was more beautiful than she’d expected: a vast city at night, like a whole universe sitting alone in the blackness of space. The wall, which wasn’t really a wall at all, glowed soft and yellow. It looked like a wall of fog caught in a perfect beam of moonlight.
    “Wow,” Faith whispered in Dylan’s ear.
    “Yeah. Wow.”
    Faith wondered where in all those white buildings her friend Liz might be. The State was so huge, miles and miles across and full of the tallest skyscrapers she’d ever seen. Even from a hundred miles away, from the height she was at, Faith could see that the Western State was an entire world unto itself.
    “I’m going to take you home now if that’s okay,” Dylan said.
    Faith didn’t speak. She wouldn’t have known what to say. The night had already been so far beyond where her imagination could take her that flying home and listening to Dylan’s voice began to feel okay. It felt good to lie on his back as he went, and she began to relax. He told her that she should never try this on her own, not yet. And that she had to be careful not to move things with her mind unless the two of them were together. It was dangerous and especially unpredictable for someone who was as untrained as she was.
    As they arrived in the darkness outside of Faith’s house, she wished it wouldn’t end. Standing on level ground turned out to be more of a letdown than a comfort.
    “You like the flying,” Dylan said, turning to face her. “I thought you might.”
    “It’s all right, I guess.” Faith laughed.
    “I promise I’ll tell you more really soon. It’s going to take a little bit of time, so you’ll need to be patient. And I’m not the one to tell you everything, but someone else will. Promise me you won’t try to move anything unless we’re together. Please?”
    Faith nodded, though she was dying to get into her house and start throwing pillows around her room with her mind.
    “How long have you been watching me?” Faith asked.
    Dylan wouldn’t answer her question.
    “I can train you, but only on the roof, where we were. Meet me there tomorrow, just after dark?”
    “You’re not going to pick me up?”
    “Afraid not. We really need to keep this to the roof as much as possible. Deal?”
    Faith nodded, Dylan smiled, and then he was gone.
    As Dylan hovered above her in the darkness, he worried about what he’d done. It was sooner than they’d discussed, and he hadn’t asked for permission. He wasn’t sure how he was going to explain to Faith that he’d been watching her every night for months. And there were much more serious things he worried about, too. He knew a catastrophe could invade the States at any time. And he knew he was about to put Faith Daniels in serious danger.
    Dylan would have liked to go home and rest, but he knew that wasn’t an option. He would let Faith have an hour or so on her own before returning to her window, and there he would spend the rest of the night.
    He’d trained her to move things with her mind. She was clumsy, but it was a start. What Faith didn’t know was that she’d only discovered half of the abilities she would need. There was something even rarer and more important still hidden inside her.
    If he could help her find it, there was a chance she’d live through the coming fury.

Chapter 14
Let’s Not Tie Our Shoes
    “But we just got here,” Faith said. “They can’t be serious.”
    She was sitting in a classroom, exhausted and confused from her night on the roof of the Nordstrom building with Dylan, when she heard the announcement on the PA system.
    “Once again,” Mr. Reichert repeated as Faith looked around the room at all the stunned students. Her gaze fell on Wade Quinn, and she turned away quickly. “Old Park Hill will remain open for two more weeks, at which time you will be reassigned. Officials from the Western State will be contacting parents and guardians to make arrangements. Thank