Lucas listened to her story with an almost child-like fascination. It was beyond description for him to hear about her powers, how she discovered them, and what they could do. He didn’t want to interrupt her story, not even to offer condolences for her deceased mother. Her continued listening attentively and was amazing to hear the part where Alice described seeing the ‘backwards movie’ upon touching her mother’s beautiful necklace, which she showed him.

“I’m sorry about your mother,” he said rather quietly when she finished her story, as he thought that was the most appropriate thing to say. “And I’m glad I can put your mind at ease,” he added with a smile.

He remained seated as she reclined her back against the bed and cushioned her head with her hands. She then held up one of her hands toward him and inquired if he didn’t shock people upon contact, after which she mentioned another power she might have that she’d never tired out before.

“No, but I [i]could[/i] shock people on contact if I wanted to, I guess,” he answered, but he was afraid to reach out to touch her hand to prove he was harmless.

“Does this power involve physical contact with other people?” he asked, somewhat anxious that this power was something that could do harm.