Chapter Three — The Telepaths Arrive
The telepaths didn’t knock.
They never knock.They just appeared in Sadie’s doorway like someone had poured them in from another dimension or their voices filled her thoughts — three of them, all wearing mismatched thrift‑store clothes that screamed, We tried to blend in and failed spectacularly. One even had a shirt that said Am I a good boy? which somehow made it worse.The tallest one, a woman with a shaved head and a gold nose ring, spoke first.
Honestly, the nose ring should’ve been the warning label.
But nope.
Not today.“You’re late,” she said.Sadie blinked. “For what?”
Who the hell are you? Telling me I’m late? Bitch, you’re late.“The prophecy,” the woman replied, like Sadie should’ve gotten an Outlook reminder about it. Or had it marked in Google Calendar — as if she’d ever use that.Sadie opened her mouth to argue — and that’s when the bleed‑through hit. It wasn’t a vision.
She saw it with her own two eyes, and one of them had 20/20 vision. It wasn’t a dream — she knew she was awake, and if she wasn’t, she better be. It was like someone cracked open her skull and shoved a memory inside that wasn’t hers:
a burning field, smoke barreling blue — several shades of blue — then the sky split open like a wound, and a voice — her own voice — saying:Find the gold before they do.Her knees buckled. She grabbed the doorframe to stay upright.The telepaths didn’t budge or try to help.
Of course they didn’t.
They just watched, heads tilted, like scientists observing a lab rat that had finally solved the unsolvable maze.“Congratulations,” the nose‑ring woman said. “Your mind is opening.”“Shut it,” Sadie said, in the most monotone voice she’d ever heard come out of her own mouth. She gasped. And who the fuck are you, Nose‑Ring, to bark orders at me?“Close it. Whatever you did — undo it.”“We didn’t do anything,” another telepath said. “You’re the one who triggered it.”Before Sadie could tell them exactly where they could shove their prophecy, the trailer park erupted in noise — engines, people shouting “FIRE!”, the unmistakable sound of people who did not come for a friendly visit.The Freedom Fighters.Not the patriotic kind — more the we’ll help you for attention kind.
Not the bake‑sale kind, if that were even a thing.These were the ones who believed Sadie was the key to a war she had no clue existed — not even the slightest inkling.
And subtlety was not their brand.A truck skidded to a stop outside, gravel spraying everywhere, making her question if it was intentional.Someone yelled, “Movement on the east side!”The telepaths exchanged a look.“It’s time,” the nose‑ring woman said. “You have to train.”Sadie barked a laugh. “Train for what? I can’t even keep my own thoughts in my head — and in case you didn’t notice, there’s a huge fire.”“For survival,” the woman said simply. “Because they want what’s inside you. And they’ll tear the world apart to get it.”Another bleed‑through slammed into her — sharper this time.A vault.
An older vault — bunker, manhole, something ancient.
A bar of gold glowing like it had been dipped in light itself.
A hand reaching for it.
Her hand — the ring she had on.She gasped. “Why gold? Why does it matter?”The telepaths went still.Finally, the smallest one whispered, “Because gold is the only metal that can hold a mind.”Sadie stared in disbelief. “Hold a mind? Like… store it?”“Like imprison it,” the woman corrected. “And someone has already used it once.”The bleed‑through pulsed again — this time with a name she didn’t recognize but somehow feared.Outside, the Freedom Fighters were getting closer.They were already there it had begun.
Sadie’s First Training Session
Sadie didn’t even notice the stranger at first. She was too busy trying to breathe through the psychic hangover from the bleed‑throughs. But then a shadow fell across her, and a voice — smooth, calm, annoyingly confident — said:“You’re late for the arena.”She looked up. The man was tall, lean, dressed like someone who’d been living out of a duffel bag for years but somehow made it look intentional. Even practical. His eyes were the unsettling part — gold flecks swirling in constant movement, like the flecks were alive.“Who are you?” Sadie asked.“Your evaluator,” he said. “I’m here to see if your gifts are real or if the telepaths were just being dramatic again.”“Great,” she muttered. “A Yelp review for my brain.”He didn’t smile. “Walk with me Sadie Harper.”Before she could protest — and she was absolutely going to — the world around them blurred, like someone had grabbed the edges of reality and stretched it. The trailer park dissolved around her, replaced by a massive circular arena carved into stone. No roof. No exits. Just sky and dirt with five figures standing on raised platforms around the perimeter.There was arena seating, too.
Sadie couldn’t help herself — she said, “Sparta!”The judges didn’t flinch.
Not one muscle.The trainers didn’t either.The voices she’d soon hear inside her skull.The stranger stepped aside. “Your gifts brought you here. Now let’s see if they can keep you alive.”And then the instructions hit.Not spoken.
Not shouted .Injected telepathically like commentators of MLB.Messages received.How is this even possible?Five voices, each distinct:A woman with a clipped British tone:
Focus your mind. Narrow it like tunnel vision. You’re leaking energy everywhere. Keep your mouth shut and do not ever respond to telepathic messages out loud. That would make you appear crazy to outsiders. Only in your mind.A gruff older man with an Australian accent:
Stand your ground. Power without control is just noise. Breathe in through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Never let your mouth gape open.A soft, melodic voice:
Listen to the world. It’s already speaking to you, you need to want to hear it.A bored‑sounding teenager:
Try not to explode anything. Yet.And the stranger’s voice, stern monatone with an accent she couldnt identify now inside her head too:
Your first task is simple. Save a town.The arena dissolved again — and suddenly she was standing on cracked earth under a blistering sun. A dried‑up riverbed stretched before her. A dam loomed in the distance, choked with debris and stone.A town behind her — silent, desperate, watching, praying, terrified.She could feel their worries.
Taste their fear.She looked again — and everyone was gone.
No traces.
No presence.
Just absence.Then comfort washed over her, slow and steady, easing her panic.A voice whispered:
You got this. You got this, Sadie Harper.She swallowed. “You want me to… what? Hydrate an entire municipality with my feelings?”The British voice snapped:
No. Unblock the dam.“How?” she screamed in her head then again outloud.The gruff voice added:
With your mind and your hands.The teenager chimed in:
Or your rage. Rage works too.“Charles, shut up,” Sadie snapped mentally. “Can you two argue later? This conversation is happening with me inside my head. I am your vessel. I am you vessel I relay messages between you, all of you that you can’t retrieve.”The British voice:
Very good, Sadie. Now save your epiphany for a later time.Sadie stared at the dam. It was massive — easily two hundred years old. Ancient. Intimidating.She began what looked like an interpretive dance routine.Something inside her shifted — like a door to a hidden chamber in her soul she didn’t know existed.The dam creaked.
Concrete fused.
Her breath hitched.“I’m dreaming,” she told herself. “This isn’t real.”But she knew it was.
This shit was happening.
And she was smack‑dab in the middle of something she couldn’t begin to explain.She lifted her hand again — and the dambegan restoring itself to the moment after it was built.Her throat tightened.
Her breath stuttered and she put her hand over her gaping mouth completely shocked as to what she is witnessing.
The voices wouldn’t shut up.She screamed inside her head:
STOP!They did not.The world vibrated.Not violently — more like a level two earthquake or a tuning fork finding the exact right note.Debris shuddered.
Rocks trembled.
Dust spiraled upward in a slow, hypnotic dance.Her heart pounded harder with each beat.
Her vision blurred.And then—CRACK.A boulder snapped free.
Then another.
Then the entire blockage exploded outward in a controlled burst, water roaring through the gap like it had been waiting years for her to give the say so.The town erupted in cheers — and now they understood what the Freedom Fighters meant:Careful how you fix anything…Silence.Sadie staggered, breathless, exhilarated, terrified.The melodic voice whispered:
Your gifts are waking up.The stranger stepped beside her, hands clasped behind his back.“You’re up to par,” he said. “For now.”Sadie glared. “For now?”He smiled for the first time — sharp, knowing, unsettling.“Training has only just begun Sadie Harper".