Chapter 19: Immobilization
One Saturday afternoon, Luke was lying in bed reading a book he had bought some time ago.
Nevermore was a boarding school. On Saturdays and Sundays, you didn't have classes, but you had to stay on the school grounds. You had to ask permission to visit Jericho.
Since he had no friends the entire weekend, he was locked in his room reading books, continuing his psychic training, or wasting time on the internet.
"You're wasting your youth!" exclaimed Edgar with indignation. He couldn't believe that his descendant spent his weekends locked in his room.
'What's wrong with him now?' thought Luke, looking up from his book and staring at the ghost of his great-great-grandfather.
"Nevermore will be your most peaceful stage! You must make the most of it. Once you get out of here it will be an all-out war against the damned Spellmans!" shouted Edgar.
"Instead of having as much fun as you say, I should train," Luke said with a grimace. Thanks to Xavier not being in the bedroom he could talk to Edgar quietly.
"Overtraining is not good. There comes a point where it is ineffective and can be counterproductive if you over-train. Once you complete your training routine, you should use the time to have fun and not be a loner," Edgar said, remembering his younger days when he would get drunk and date some girl the same age as Luke. The times were different.
"I'd rather stay here," said Luke, turning his attention back to his book.
'This smelly brat,' thought Edgar, clenching his fist.
"Rather than waste time procrastinating, it's better to train a little since you have so much free time!" said Edgar.
"Didn't you just say that overtraining is bad?" asked Luke.
"I will teach you a very useful telekinesis skill for combat," said Edgar, getting Luke's attention, who put his book aside and looked at him intently.
"Which one?" asked Luke.
"Immobilization," replied Edgar with a slight smile, seeing that he caught Luke's interest.
"Immobilizing a person?" asked Luke with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes. A person or any living thing," nodded Edgar.
"I don't think it's too hard," said Luke losing interest. He could already move 180kg objects and throw them at high speeds.
A very heavy person could weigh between 90kg to 100kg. A weight that could easily immobilize. Even an obese person weighing no more than 180kg could be immobilized with his telekinesis.
"You must be thinking that because you can move 180kg weights immobilizing a normal person is pretty easy, right?" asked Edgar, and Luke nodded.
"You are very wrong. Immobilizing a person is very different from moving lifeless inanimate objects. A person will not stay still while being controlled by your telekinesis. He will try to break free. Also, the technique is different from moving objects," Edgar said.
"How hard can it be?" said Luke. With his 180kg, it wouldn't be hard to immobilize an average person no matter how much he wanted to break free. He had already thought that shortly he could immobilize a transformed Hyde or werewolf.
"That's what a person who never tried to immobilize a person would say," Edgar said with contempt and pissed Luke off since he was right. He had never used his telekinetic power to immobilize a person or living thing.
"Let's do it! It'll be a piece of cake," Luke said, pissed off.
"I hope you don't buy your words. The first thing is for you to get a training partner. Find someone light to start with. A girl if possible," said Edgar.
Luke grimaced at this request. Who would agree to be his training dummy at Nevermore?
"Oh, sorry. I forgot you don't even have a friend. At least you'll meet a girl," Edgar said with a smirk.
"Shut up. I have someone in mind," growled Luke, standing up. He put on his sneakers, a black hoodie, the necklace and walked out of the dorm.
"Did you make a friend?" asked Edgar with a little smile. Since Luke didn't wear it when he had classes he didn't know about the relationships he had. He only knew he was a loner because he always stayed in his dorm room if possible.
Luke didn't respond. When he got to the common room from his dorm many were surprised that he had gone out. Luke ignored the stares and walked out of the dorm.
'Her dorm is for girls only I can't go in...' thought Luke, thinking about how to meet the one person he might consider closest at Nevermore.
It was Enid. Although he could try to sneak into the girl's dorm it would be too conspicuous, and he doesn't want to attract attention or get caught. So he has no choice but to wander the Nevermore grounds in search of Enid.
His relationship with Enid had improved since that first practice bout in the fencing class. From that point on they were always practice partners in Fencing classes.
So Luke was planning to ask her for help with his training. Knowing Enid's personality and that she is always interested in him, she should accept without much trouble.
The Nevermore grounds were very large. Much more than what was shown in the Netflix series.
The day was clear with few clouds in sight. A perfect day to spend time with friends outdoors. As long as you have friends.
'I'll look in the left courtyard,' Luke thought, heading to the courtyard usually filled with students along with their friends hanging out.
This courtyard was a large outdoor area surrounded by walls and walkways. In its center is a fountain with a large dead tree. At its edge is a statue of Edgar Allan Poe. It is the courtyard that was featured in the series.
As he arrived he noticed a large number of groups of students chatting and laughing with their friends. Near the fountain, there were several tables with benches for the students to sit at.
At one of the tables, Luke saw Enid sitting and chatting happily with her friends.
'That's Yoko and Divina,' thought Luke, recognizing the two friends Enid was chatting with.
Yoko Tanaka is a very popular vampire. In the series, she had an unimportant role. Divina is a mermaid. She also had a supporting role in the series.
Luke sat on a bench along the walkways and watched the courtyard with all the students chatting and laughing happily.
"Youth," Luke muttered. Edgar floating next to him came to hear him and smiled.
"You see? You must make the most of your time of youth. You won't be young for life," said Edgar.
"Why should I follow the youth that others want? Other people can enjoy their youth by reading books or wasting time on the internet. I thought outcasts didn't follow stereotypes," commented Luke, taking Edgar by surprise, as his descendant's argument had logic.
"You're right, but humans are social beings. It's not good to shut yourself away in your world and not interact with anyone," Edgar commented in a more serious tone.
...
"Is that Luke?" asked Yoko, looking off into the distance at Luke sitting on one of the dark catwalks.
"Yes. Whoa, that's the first time I've seen him out on a weekend," commented Divina, looking towards Luke.
'Luke?' thought Enid, turning her head and recognizing the boy right away. As she was about to get up from her seat and walk towards Luke both Yoko and Divina grabbed her arms.
"You stay here, Enid. You always talk to him. You can't go talk to him as soon as you see him. You'll look like a desperate girl," said Yoko, and Divina nodded, agreeing with her.
"But..." said Enid reluctantly. It was the first time she had seen Luke on a Saturday outside his dorm. She couldn't pass up this opportunity to talk to him, but seeing the looks on her friends' faces she sat back down.
Yoko was right. She was always the one trying to talk to Luke. The latter never took the first step to talk to her.
...
"Won't you ask your friend to help you train?" asked Edgar, looking at Luke after finishing their short conversation.
Luke shook his head. He saw Enid chatting happily with her friends. How would he approach her to say, do you want to be my training dummy?
He got up from the bench and started walking to go to the gym. Since he was out of his bedroom, he would at least train physically. This time Edgar didn't say anything. He didn't scoff and followed Luke silently.
When he turned a corner, he bumped into a person. It was a girl who was looking at her cell phone. As she collided with Luke she fell to the ground.
"Ouch..." the girl mumbled, grabbing her forehead.
Luke only lost his balance a little. As he was distracted thinking about some things, he didn't have enough reaction to dodge.
'Sabrina Jones,' thought Luke, recognizing the blonde girl. A psychic capable of creating and controlling fire.
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