Efferent

Chapter 50

"I have him under my control!" I burst out. "Do not worry! It will be fine." James still looked uneasy, and he shifted on his feet but did not make a further comment. "It is not his fault." I repeated softly.

"Perhaps not, but we need to do something about him." James raised a hand before I could speak, signaling that he was about to continue. "I now have no objections on him staying here or not. But he can not simply rage on." He paused. "We need him to do something."

I frowned. "Like what? I can not control him to do some things."

"Let him join the Afferent competition!" James said, his eyes brightening. I furrowed my brows more, then raised one.

"Afferent? But is he not Efferent?"

"He is, but, technically, under your control he is now Afferent." James reasoned, nodding to himself. "We can let him join the competition! It leaves him something to do, and you can control him while helping the rest of the Afferent as well."

I tried to contradict James, "I-"

"He is also Afferent because some of his powers were extracted by Dr. Ross! It makes sense to call him Afferent now, because while he possesses his Efferent powers, his Percentage is not as high." He looked at the bathroom door. "Therefore, he is Afferent. He does not have control over his own abilities."

"I-" I tried once again.

"It seems reasonable, Ardyn, think about it." James cut in. "If you can get him to hone his powers, and use them to the best of his ability, then he could very well be one of the strongest we have yet to see! Imagine," When I still seemed unsure, he hurried on, "This is also good for him. For him to learn how to use his powers better and soon he won't even need to be under your control!"

I nodded slowly. "All right, then. Only if this works well. The minute something seems off, we stop." James nodded vigorously, a contrast to mine.

"Yes, yes of course!" He grinned, clasping his hands together. "I think he is ready to come out of the shower. Please show him the way to the training grounds where the Afferent are, Ardyn. I think we shall let him join Group B."

"Okay." I mumbled under my breath and showed Clark the way down to the grassy fields where the other Afferent were. James, Travis, and Blaise were all commanding groups, demonstrating their Efference and instructing the Afferents.

Clark suddenly stopped, and I turned towards him. He had a confused look on his face. "Wh-what is this? Who a-are they?" His hand quivered slightly and I sighed, looking for anything so say except a direct answer.

"They are the Afferent." I settled quickly, in hopes of avoiding any rages brought on by anxiety. "They are also your competition moving forward, I suppose."

That was definitely the wrong thing to say. His eyes grew darker as his fists clenched. Surely, there must be an inkling in his memory of the Afferent. "Afferent?" He pronounced the word as if it was the most hated thing on Earth, lip curling down in a feral snarl. "Afferent?" He raised his voice and repeated when I didn't answer.

"Yes." I answered, and he growled lowly. I raised my hands up slowly, defensively. "But, do not worry, Clark. That was only because Katherine controlled them. With her being dead, they now pose no threat to us." His eyes were still narrowed. "They pose no threat to us." I reiterated, and he finally calmed down.

"Then what am I doing here?" Clark inquired. "I am Efferent."

I winced, not wanting to be the one to break this piece to him. I eased more of my power on him, forcing him to act more on the way I wanted him to. "Dr. Ross- Walter- he... he took out some of your Efference. Your Percentage is now about as high as an Afferent's."

He glared at nothing in particular. "What? But I am Efferent. I am still fully capable of my powers!" Clark exclaimed. I braced myself, trying to stop him from using his Afference to teleport across the field. "Wh-what is this? What is this witchery?"

"Clark." I sighed. "It is not witchery, and you know it. It is just merely my Efference stopping you. I do not want you to overexert yourself and use your Afference." Clark growled at the word Afference but did not comment. "Please join Blaise in Group B to train."

Something I had not seen for a long time appeared in his eyes. Fear. Helplessness. He was afraid, of Blaise, of the Afferent, and of being away from me, the one who he only trusted. "I will follow you, Clark." I reassured him slightly with a comforting smile, and his stiff posture gave away, becoming more relaxed.

He walked across the field towards Blaise, who was showing his Efference to a black haired boy. I remembered him, he seemed to have the ability like Blaise's, but only can project one picture, one image at a time and only to one person.

"Blaise!" I called out, waving, and he grinned as he waved back.

"Hey." He said quietly in greeting. Then his eyes traversed to Clark, and they both stiffened at the same time as they glared at each other. The air was thick with pressure, constricting any movement from either side, and the tension was brittle.

"Okay, okay, stop. Blaise, he poses no harm. He is under my Efference." I offered, stepping between them and severing the connection. "And, Clark, Blaise is not going to hurt you as he did last time. Last time was just a misunderstanding." I pushed Clark gently into the group of Afferent, and he gave me an uncomfortable look. "You two better behave."

Blaise rolled his eyes but placed a hand on his forehead, saluting me. "Yes, ma'am. Whatever you say." I laughed and sat on the grass, watching as Blaise helped- or should I say tried to help Clark. Clark just wasn't reacting, and he was not able to access his ability.

I wondered if it was my Efference overpowering his, and I even lowered the amount of control I had on him, something far lower then I normally would have been comfortable with. Clark was still struggling, though, and I released my hold on him completely.

Even if it was just for a quick second, Clark suddenly appeared to my left side. I gave a small yelp, startled, and my control was gained on him again. He looked towards me, his eyes pleading for me to release my hold on him again and for him to teleport back.

Sighing, I relented, and Clark teleported right in front of Blaise. My Efference grabbed at him once more, stopping him again. "Okay, that was good!" I could hear Blaise faintly yelling. "But now Ardyn is going to add more of her control on you. Try to use your Afference anyways. You can overcome her."

Clark's eyes narrowed in his concentration, and he appeared right above me, gravity taking control as we crashed to the ground, Clark landing onto me. My Efference released him and then he teleported all the way back. It took me longer to regain my breath, since the wind was literally knocked out of me.

"Alright, alright!" James screamed, trying to broadcast his voice to everyone as he strode onto the practice field. I walked closer, not wanting to miss a single word. "I think everyone has had enough practice, enough time and enough preparation for the first test."