The Weapon Within: A Paranormal Dystopian Adventure (The Unexplainables Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

an Arab cross. Some Duds owned her but they couldn’t tame her so they gave her to us for nothing. Mum’s the only one who can go near her so you’d be best to leave her be unless you want to get kicked.’
    Turning back, we wandered into a large barn filled with hay bales. A brood of hens were scratching around on the floor. Hugo and I sat down on a bale whilst Brogan ran around, pretending to be an aeroplane.
    ‘ How old are you, Hugo?’
    ‘ I’m ten.’
    ‘ Have you always been a telepath – since you were born?’
    ‘ Yep, pretty much. I’ve been able to hear people’s thoughts since I was tiny, which drove Mum crazy.’ He snorted with laughter, his eyes dancing.
    ‘ I bet! So how does it work?’
    ‘ Well, it’s kind of like watching TV inside my head. I hear and see the thoughts of people nearby but you really have to tune in to hear them clearly. It can be quite funny when people are daydreaming. I can communicate with other telepaths from a distance too, but I’ve only ever done it as far as the town. I’m not sure if it works any further away.’
    ‘ Do all the Nexes develop their powers from such a young age?’
    ‘ Not always,’ he replied. ‘The thing is, people are scared to show their powers in public because they could get into trouble. But they’re also worried about trying them out at home in case they set their house on fire or something.’
    ‘ That’s understandable.’
    ‘ Yeah, but it’s frustrating too because not being able to use the powers makes them kind of build up inside. It can make it worse when they finally do come out.’
    ‘ I can relate to that,’ I murmured. ‘It’s a horrible feeling.’
    ‘ It’s even worse at school,’ he continued. ‘We’re not allowed to play sports or take tests.’ He kicked the bale he was sitting on hard with the heel of his foot. ‘It’s so stupid. I mean, just because we have powers doesn’t mean that we’re going to cheat. But because they’re so scared of us we can’t even try to see if we’re clever or not. There’s just no point in bothering. It’s not as if we’ll be allowed to do anything decent in the future anyway.’
    ‘ You don’t know that. Things might change tomorrow for all you know, and if they do change and you haven’t bothered trying to make the best of things, you might miss out on an opportunity that comes up. I think any education is better than none.’
    ‘ Really?’ He eyed me sceptically.
    ‘ Believe me, I’ve never been to school in my life and I’d have given anything to have done so. You’re lucky that you get to go at all.’
    ‘ I guess so. It’s just . . .’
    SQWARKKKKKKK!

Chapter Five
     
     
    We looked up to see a chicken three feet up in the air and heading our way at speed.
    ‘Watch out!’ Hugo yelled. I dived to the side as he did an impressive leap and caught the poor creature, setting it down gently on the ground, where it flapped its wings and scrabbled away, clucking loudly.
    ‘ Chicken fly!’ Brogan grinned broadly. ‘Look, chicken fly!’
    Before we even had time to blink, the entire brood of chickens was whizzing around above our heads. Every time we managed to catch one and set it down, Brogan would send another flying, with peals of laughter echoing around the barn, until finally . . .
    ‘ Brogan !’ Tommy stalked into the barn and stood with his hands on his hips, looking down at his son. The chickens landed heavily on the floor and left the barn en masse and at speed. Brogan looked up at his father from under his eyelashes.
    ‘ Chicken fly?’
    Tommy raised an eyebrow and stretched his hand out to Brogan who took it sheepishly and walked quietly out of the barn. Wiping his forehead with the back of his h and, Hugo smiled. ‘Come on, let’s go see if they’re cooking yet.’
    *
    There were a lot of people in the garden by the time we joined them. Everyone was very friendly and I enjoyed listening to their conversations. Everything was going well until