I stared at my phone, focusing on our coordinates, while we drove past the vast forest. Pine trees stretched through the dull fog that hung overhead. I clutched the note given to me, my mind focused on my mission at hand. Go to the given coordinates and let the compass lead you. “How vague," I thought, “who wants me to follow these instructions? It could easily be a trap to use me for some weird experimentation or just a prank.” I didn’t trust the instructions, but it was the only hope I have to figure out what I am. I tap the barrier between the driver and me, signaling to pull over.

“Here? You want me to stop here?” He stared at me with a bewildered expression.

I looked down at the coordinates on my phone and nodded, “Yes, here will be just fine.”

He pulled off to the side of the road and I handed him a few crumpled bills, issued a thanks, and exited the taxi. I stared at the forest towering in front of me, hitched my bag over my shoulder, and started my way through the mist. The sound of crunching gravel behind me signaled that the taxi was pulling away, very slowly, making sure I was okay going into this forest. “There couldn’t be anything that I can’t handle in here”, I reassured myself “I know I am able to defend myself.”

After a few minutes of trekking up a hill, I pulled out the compass from my pocket. It dangled from a short chain, rusty and unmoving. I placed it in my palm and immediately began to spin wildly in all directions. It abruptly halted, pointing to the northeast direction. I nodded to myself and followed the arrow.

Even though I couldn’t see it all, I could sense the water. I could feel it almost. I could even feel it in the misty fog in the air. It swarmed around me like a security blanket. The blanket of fog was dense, covering the path I was on. I held up my hands and pushed the fog aside, uncovering a solid mile or so of visibility to walk through.

I remember last week I was safely tucked away in my home, away from the world, in hiding. My parents didn’t know what I was or how I can do whatever it is I do. It started at a young age, building as I grew older. It started at a neighbor’s pool party. I hadn’t quite gotten the hang of swimming yet so I was keeping my distance from the pool. A group of kids at the party decided it’d be a good idea to try and toss me in. They managed to grab both my legs and arms and began swinging me in the direction. The pool water seemed to spout up and blast the kids holding me away. I was so terrified I barely saw how I did it.

Since that moment I grew curious about what I could do. I began practicing with whatever water I could find. I could feel the movement and presence of water near me, like how you can feel and hear your heartbeat sometimes. I could feel the flow of a river that was nearby my house from my bedroom. It became hard to control with the kids harassing me at school. They called me a freak and threw things at me, but that never affected me. I put up walls immediately and ignored them. When they threw things, I fought back. I tossed them aside with water just by flicking my wrist.

My parents received complaints from all the bullies’ parents and soon withdrew me from school. They moved us away to a remote town in New England where we could live away from people without them knowing about me. I spent my days being homeschooled by my mother daydreaming about how much I could possibly do. For years I hid away in that house then sometime after I turned eighteen I received a package. It held the note with the coordinates and the old compass. The compass didn’t work when my parents held it, but it started to spin when I did. That was only a few weeks ago and now I was here, following the directions of a mysterious package that could lead me to explanations for what I am and what I can do.

I pushed forward uphill, following the arrow of the compass. The weight of the clouds was heavy, the rain would follow soon enough. Pausing at the top of the hill I looked around. I could hear most of the animals in the forest, birds calling out, the squirrels scurrying about, and a fierce howl far away in the distance. I took my time pacing down the hill, trying to avoid the fallen trees in front of me. I managed to climb up on top of a large fallen oak and tried getting past the branches jutting toward the sky. I felt the traction of my boots start to slip and tried to grasp whatever I could. My body fell backward and a sharp pain shot up my leg.

I pulled myself back up, swearing at the fallen tree, and got down on the other side. The sharp pain was getting worse, I stared at the large area of blood that was seeping through my pant leg, while I tried to find a place to sit and fix my leg. I sat down at the base of a tall pine, ducking under its branches, and pulled the first aid kit from my hiking bag. There was a hole where the branch had struck my leg. I peeled back the fabric and saw the fresh gash still bleeding. I opened a bottle of water from my bag and poured it over my leg. I drew my hand above my leg and worked the water into my wound, cleaning out the dirt and small splinters. I cleaned it with a small amount of antiseptic and wrapped it with a bandage and gauze.

Sitting there with my leg beating with pain I thought about what I would do next. I knew if I didn’t get up I would be forced to spend even longer trying to get through the forest. I swore at the oak once more, kicked off one of its branches with my good leg, and kept on going through the trees. The air was damp and heavy around me, full of moisture. I kept trying to figure out what water was nearby as I kept traveling.

After a mile, I reached a stream I had detected half an hour ago and stopped. Placing myself on a nearby boulder, I took a break so I could eat a granola bar and drink some water. I could feel the flow of the stream in front of me and the ripples caused by the fish in it. My leg had stopped bleeding but the pain was still searing throughout it. I took a couple of ibuprofen and got back up. There was no bridge to cross over the stream so I placed my hands together and parted the steam, creating a dry path I could walk across. The water looked like it was held up on each side by invisible dams and the fish were trying to swim through the barrier.

Reaching the other side I let the stream emerge with itself and stared at the compass. The arrow was still pointing toward the northeast so that’s where I headed. The rustling of leaves and far off animal noises echoed through the forest. Another uphill trip was placed in front of me and I was forced to dig my walking stick into the earth for balance every step of the way. My leg was throbbing in pain by the time I reached the top. The earth seemed to plateau for miles and miles ahead. I knew I was now headed up toward the mountains.

A numb sensation was beginning to form in my leg so I knew I needed to take a moment to rest again. I searched around for somewhere safe to stop and managed to find a small cave formed in between two large boulders. I sat down as soon as I went through the entrance and propped my leg up on a rock in front of me. I closed my eyes and began to listen to the sounds of the forest. The squirrels were still running around and I could still hear birds chirping far away. A sudden chorus of shrieks broke up the chirping and the fury of flapping wings overtook all the noise.

I stood up and limped out of the cave with my walking stick to see what was wrong. I stopped as soon as I stepped out and covered my mouth. I regretted stopping to rest immediately, I knew I could’ve kept going and I should’ve listened to myself. A black bear was carrying part of a small deer in its mouth. I began slowly inching to the side, avoiding anything that would make a sound. The bear hadn’t seen me yet, he was too busy eating the deer. I slowly backed up, attempting to move past the boulders to get away, but my foot snapped a large twig in half and the bear spun around.

He dropped the deer and turned to face me full on. I swore quietly and took my walking stick in my hands. He let out a few roars at me and scratched at the ground. I took a defensive stance and crouched with my walking stick pointed at him. He slowly started toward me, only curiosity being his intent. I could hear my heartbeat pounding in my ears as he got closer. He reached the tip of my walking stick and let a loud growl. Something flipped inside of me so I growled right back at him. He took one step back the swung his arm at my walking stick, slapping it out of my grip.

I swore at myself for being so stupid and put my hands out in defense. I focused my mind on every droplet of water around and tried to collect it in front of me. I attempted to set up a wall of water but it wasn’t enough, I was too scared to focus on all the water nearby. I whipped the water at the bear and tried to back him away from me. It only worked partially, he took a few steps back but only got angrier at me. I backed up against the boulders and prayed I could somehow get out of here alive.

It reared back and began trampling towards me full speed. I crouched down and imagined a barrier around me. I heard the bear roar in anguish and thud to the ground. I could feel heat in the air so I opened my eyes. Somehow I managed to put up a thin water barrier up, but through that I could see flames. Why would a fire suddenly start in the forest? I let the water fall and saw more clearly. A boy was somehow manipulating fire and scaring the bear away. The bear let out one last fierce roar before retreating away from him. The boy turned toward me and reached down to help me up.

“Ouch!” I yanked my hand away from him as soon as I touched him.

“Oh my god, I’m sorry. My hands, they…” He stumbled over his words as he pulled his hands away.

“It’s fine. Thanks for saving me.” I managed to stand, leaning on my good leg.

“What happened to you?” He stared at my bandage.

“I slipped off a fallen tree.” I winced as I went to grab my bag from the cave.

“I’m Luke, by the way.” He said, following me.

“Luke,” I glimpsed at him, “I’m Riley, and I’d like to get out of this area before that bear comes back.”

“Well, I don’t think he will be.” Luke chuckled, raising his arms up.

It was almost like he had dipped his hands and forearms in charcoal and the veins his arms glowed like a simmering fire. The glowed brighter as fire emitted from his hands, cupping it he held it up for me to see.

“So, you can play with fire?” I stepped closer to see his hands.

“Something like that, I guess.” He shrugged, letting the fire dance in his hands.

“Are you here for the same reason I am?” I narrowed my eyes at him.

“The compass?” He held up a replicate compass like my own.

“There’s got to be some explanation for this.” I frowned as we kept walking away from the cave.

“What do you mean?” He asked, stepping over branches on the ground.

“This.” I reached out for nearby water and it came and floated in my hands.

“Wow.” He reached out to touch it but withdrew almost immediately.

“What’s wrong?” I let the water fall away.

“Fire doesn’t go so well with water.” He chuckled, rubbing his blackened hands together creating sparks.

We walked along together, our compasses pointing in the same direction, and he told me about himself. He had a normal childhood until he had gotten into a fight at school and a bully tried holding him to the ground to hit him. His arms started to turn red, then black, and then fire seemed to run through his veins then. He had let his anger get the best of him and the fire lashed out and threw the kid off of him. The kid had never exactly recovered from the burns, years were spent in a burn care unit of a local hospital. That’s when he and his family moved away to another location, but he still couldn’t control his powers.

His parents placed him in a private school where kids were taught to be well behaved and have good manners. He soon found his anger was the source of his outbursts when a boy in his gym class was trying to fight him during a foul play. He tried to stop it from happening, but soon his hands were burning with the rage he was feeling and he had to move again. This time, his parents locked him inside the house, almost like mine did, and they went on vacations quite often. This past vacation to the Bahamas while he was alone he received a package, the same one I got. He packed a bag and took some of their money so he could follow the instructions and compass for the same answers I wanted.

We were almost at the top of the hill when I felt the rain start to fall. The feeling was almost a relief, a surrounding security blanket. I stared up at the gray sky and felt the rain start to fall more rapidly. I looked back down to see Luke retreating under a pine’s branches.

“What are you doing?” I stopped and limped over to him.

“The rain.” His eyes were wide with fear.

“What about it?” I followed him under the tree.

“I-I can’t let it touch me. It hurts too much.” I watched him tuck his arms in as much as possible.

“Has it always been like that?”

“Ever since I found out what I could do and my arms were like this, yes.” His eyes were squeezed shut.

“Well, we might almost be there, Luke. Could you maybe put my coat on and be alright?” I took off my backpack.

“No, it’s not just my arms, it’s my skin too.” He winced as drops made their way through the branches.

I sat there, thinking, wondering what I could do to help. Crawling out from under the branches I knew what I could do. I raised my hands up above my head and focused. I let the barrier cover us, keeping the rain from touching us. Calling Luke from under the tree, I got us both under the barrier and pulled out the compass once more. The fog seemed to dissipate behind us and a clearer sky seemed to show. Soon the rain stopped and I let the barrier drop.

The sun danced across the water droplets that clung to the green forest as we reached the peak of the hill. Taller mountains were seen in the distance, overshadowed by clouds. A small valley sat between our hill and a much taller mountain across the way.

“Do you think it’s down there?” Luke asked, staring down at his compass.

“Only one way to find out,” I said, trying to figure which way to maneuver down.

There was a winding trail between the leaning Birch trees that we managed to make our way down. The pain in my leg was a dull pain now which made it easier to step over the obstacles on the path. The forest that was once beneath us in the valley now stood tall and green like a large tree army protecting whatever is inside. Our compasses begun to spin out of control when we entered the forest and spun even faster with every step we took. The sun seemed to shine brighter in the distance where there was a break in the trees.

We stepped out of the protective forest to face a large, crumbling stone wall. Our compasses had stopped its wild dance and pointed north of us. Directly in front of us stood a large iron gate with thorny vines twisting around it. Overgrown weeds littered the yard that lay beyond the rusting gate leading up to a castle-like manor. Luke walked in front of me and attempted to open the gate. When the vines wouldn’t let the gate open I watched Luke let his hands grip the vines and burn them away.

We walked around large, out of control bushes and made our way to the front door. The house was even larger up close. A tower stood tall among the rest of the manor. It sad windows had stains of the years dripping down the entire house, its once white exterior now a depressing grey. The front door was angry we were here, or it was the way the wood had aged over the years, and when we grasped the lion knocker the old door merely fell open to us.

“Hello?” I called out, stepping over a broken chair into the home.

“Maybe no one is actually here look at all the dust.” Luke wiped his finger on a nearby table and his face twisted in disgust.

The staircase leading to the next floor was covered in broken furniture. A broken chandelier was barely held to the ceiling by its ropes. The only light seemed to be the setting sun, casting an orange glow to the sad interior of the once beautiful home. A loud creak erupted from the floor and caused me to jump back.

“Hello,” A man in a formal tuxedo stood in front of us “I’m Jenkins. I see you possess one of my compasses. I’ve been expecting you. We all have.”

“We?” I questioned.

“Come along, I’ll show you the way.” He turned down a dark hallway and we followed.

“This is so sketchy.” Luke’s whispered voice was right in my ear.

“Shh! I think it’ll be fine…” Jenkins opens a door at the end of the hallway and bright light blinds us for a few seconds.

“Come on in,” He gestures us to follow him into the elevator.

“An elevator? In this crappy old house?” I hear Luke mutter under his breath.

“Yes, all who enter this house never expect to find we have updated technology hidden behind all the dust,” Jenkins smirks, pressing the G button on the wall.

We stand in silence on the way down. I examine the array of buttons on the wall. There’s one through fourteen to choose from along with B, G, and R. I stare at them wondering what could be on each floor. We finally reach G and step out into a beautifully decorated foyer. A woman stands next to the table in a navy pantsuit holding a tablet in her hands tapping away.

“Mabel?” Jenkins walks in front of us down the hallway as the woman joins us.

“Yes, sir?” Mabel clicks on her tablet and presses a finger to a Bluetooth device in her ear.

“Please get two new rooms prepared for our new members.” She nods at him and breaks off down a different hallway than us.

“Hey, so listen, I appreciate the hospitality and whatnot but it’d be nice if you’d tell us what we’re doing here and what the heck these compasses are for.” Luke bites, glaring at Jenkins.

“One moment please.” Jenkins quips, opening a set of French doors into a large office.

We gape at the wall furthest from us. An entire wall of window faces out toward a large valley. The Mansion that may sit silently above has led us down and out the face of a mountain facing this beautiful view of trees and blue skies for miles and miles.

“Please sit,” he motions at two chairs facing a large oak desk, “This house is a hidden safe haven for people like you. People with strange abilities that regular people can’t understand. We’re one out of many around the world, but this is the original house. This is House One, the house of the bear. We sit in these mountains, hidden away from view and the outside world. You’re welcome to go, but I encourage you to stay. Please understand that here you may be yourself and learn more about your abilities among other special people just like you.”

Luke and I stare at each other for a long moment and realize what we would choose. We nod and turn to Jenkins with hope. Realizing we have found somewhere we can be ourselves and won’t be judged or bullied, we agree to stay and become a part of a special community of people with abilities. We find ourselves. We find our home.