"Hurry up and get in." Francis's mother said, unlocking the car door.

"What's goin' on?" Francis asked as she got in the car.

"There's a hurricane comin'. We gotta get home and pack." Jennifer answered. Francis didn't get it. They had lived in Florida her entire life. Hurricanes were always coming at them. Francis and her mom always hunkered down and boarded up the house. They never packed before. They never ran.

When they got home Jennifer pulled two duffle bags out of the hall closet.

"Get some clothes. Don't forget underwear. And your toothbrush." Jennifer said in a rush.

Francis did as she was told. With the duffles full, Jennifer threw them into the trunk of the car.

"Aren't we gonna board up the house?" Francis asked in a worried tone.

"No time. Get in the car." Her mother answered. The car pulled off from the house no sooner than Francis had shut her door. They only drove for a few minutes. Francis saw the steeple of the big church on Martin Luther King Avenue grow larger as they approached it.

There were many other cars in the parking lot when they pulled in. Francis wasn't sure if there were always this many cars in the church parking lot. She had only been to the church a few times when she was really young.

Behind Francis's mother's Volkswagen, a BMW pulled into the parking lot. Sophia, her mother, and her father got out of the BMW.

"Hello Jennifer." The smooth southern drawl of Sophia's mother's voice caught Francis off guard. No one else in the neighborhood talked like that.

"Carmen, you're looking beautiful as usual." Francis's mother said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Carmen Sanchez, mother of Sophia, was wearing a skin tight red dress and a floor length fur coat. She was wearing a fur coat in Florida in the middle of August.

"Hi Franny." The male Francis Brown said to his daughter. He knelt down to be at her eye level.

"Hi Dad." Francis said, staring straight at him. She wanted to tell him that she found the locket he left for her. But she was scared to tell him that the locket was gone, that it exploded into light and nothingness. She didn't want him to be upset.

The male Francis smiled warmly as he gave our young Francis a hardy pat on the shoulder.

"Let's go in Lovebug. The rain's gettin' worse." Carmen said, drawing out each word longer than the one before. She curled her arms tightly around one of his, forcing him into a standing position.

Jennifer didn't talk to her daughter's father. He didn't try to talk to her either.

Inside the church there were a lot of people that Francis recognized. Mobi was helping Pastor Nelson put up a banner that said Hurricane Shelter. Adam was standing near them with two older women talking his ear off. He looked miserable. Five small children ran past Adam and the two women. Eugene was chasing them, making dinosaur noises. There was a woman watching Eugene intensely. She seemed like she was on the verge of tears.

A door slammed behind Francis. It was the wind. The sound of leaves being blown up against the stain glass windows increased in frequency. Pastor Nelson's wife hurried across the room and turned on a radio.

"Hurricane Darla went from a tropical storm to a category 3 hurricane in one day. Such increases in wind speeds have never been documented. Meteorologists have no way of predicting where to storm will land or how strong the winds will be when it does. The president has issued a state of emergency for the entire gulf coast. Although there may not be time, evacuation is recommended for all inhabitants of --"

The power went out. The radio turned off and so did all the lights. A little girl screamed somewhere. Jennifer grabbed Francis's hand tightly.

"Everyone gather in the chapel!" Pastor Nelson said. The volume and urgency in his voice scared Francis.

Once in the chapel Pastor Nelson stood in the center of the room. All eyes were on him.

"I know some of you, others I do not. I also don't know the relationship you have with God. But, I would like to pray for us all today if you will allow it." Pastor Nelson said. Murmurs of agreement came from the crowd.

"Let us hold hands." Pastor Nelson said, extending his hands out to the people. His wife quickly grabbed one of his hands. Others in the group began to join the handholding circle.

"No! I don't want to hold hands." Francis heard a little girl whine. She saw the little girl struggling against the grip of Eugene. Eugene looked extremely frustrated. He glanced up and locked eyes with Francis. He seemed happy to see her.

"Listen to me Kelly, you want to hold hands. Everyone feels like holding hands." Eugene said. The girl's face immediately brightened up.

"I want to hold hands!" The girl squealed.

"Me too, me too!" Four other children chanted. Eugene led the children to the circle where they eagerly linked hands. Everyone in the room had now created a giant circle. Francis held her mother's hand on one side. On the other side was a woman she didn't recognize. The woman was wearing strong perfume that made Francis want to sneeze. The woman grabbed Francis's hand tightly.

Francis felt a warm comfort. She was at peace in this circle. She felt a strong connection in the circle, as if she was being supported, lifted up, and hugged at the same time.

Pastor Nelson instructed everyone to bow their heads and he began his prayer. "Lord we come to you today..." his voice trailed off. He was still praying but his voice was muted for Francis.

"Woah I feel good." Francis heard a voice. It was Eugene.

"Shhhh." Another voice said. This voice hadn't said much but Francis could tell it was Sophia by the amount of attitude the word carried.

Opening her eyes, Francis could see that everyone else still had their heads bowed and eyes closed.

"Are you in my head?" Francis asked the other two.

"Shut your mouth. I'm listening to the pastor." Sophia said, or thought.

"Open your eyes!" Francis shouted in her mind. She continued to watch the others. Sophia, directly across from Francis in the circle, lifted her head and opened her eyes. Adam and Eugene did the same. The four of them were at ninety degree angles from each other like the points on a compass.

"I'm not talkin'. I'm in your head." Francis thought.

"I can't even be alone in my thoughts. This sucks." It was Adam thinking this time.

"Get out of my head!" Sophia thought.

"I would if I knew how I got here." Francis replied.

"I guess we really are connected." Adam added.

"This is pretty cool!" Eugene thought.

"I don't think it's cool. I want to be alone." Thought Adam.

"It must be happenin' because we're touchin'." Francis thought.

"I'm not touchin' you." Eugene thought.

"You're touchin' your sister who's touchin' your mama who's touchin' my mama who's touchin' me." Francis thought.

"I have no idea what you just said." Eugene thought.

"She's sayin' that we can only hear each other 'cuz we're in this stupid prayer circle." Adam thought.

"Don't you call it stupid! Pastor Nelson is talking' to God." Sophia thought.

"I just don't want y'all in my head." Adam thought.

"But it's cool! We're like spies or aliens!" Eugene thought.

"There has to be a reason for it. After this we should talk about our powers." Francis thought.

"After this? There is no 'After this'. The weather man on TV said that this hurricane is too big and too strong. He said it was a disaster. Ain't y'all scared?" Sophia asked.

"I was but not now. I feel strong." Adam thought.

"I can make you feel different." Eugene thought.

"Don't you dare." Sophia thought. Her eyes were practically shooting daggers at him.

"Wait, I feel somethin'." Francis thought.

"Don't you feel everythin'?" Adam asked.

"Not like that! I feel wind and rain. I feel like it's tryin' to blow me down." Francis thought. Something crashed through a window. Wind blew into the room and rain landed on everyone. Pastor Nelson said amen and let go of his neighbor's hands. The link was severed. Francis could no longer hear the others.

"Get to the back room! There aren't any windows there!" The pastor exclaimed. Francis followed her mother into the back room. It was considerably smaller than the chapel. People were practically on top of each other. The sound of more glass breaking frightened Francis. Instinctively, she grabbed Sophia's hand. The other girl did not resist her touch. Instead, Sophia looked at Francis with fear in her eyes.

"Grab Eugene!" Francis thought. Sophia did as she was told. Francis held Adam's hand as well.

"Can you feel it? There's wind and rain, water at my feet. Feel it!" Sophia screamed through her thoughts.

"No." Sophia thought.

"We don't have that power." Adam added.

"I can make us feel it. If you let me." Eugene thought.

"No way! I won't let you do that to me again!" Sophia replied.

"Please! It's important. I know it is!" Francis felt like she was out in the storm herself. She thought that if she could get the others there with her, everything would work out.

"Fine, whatever, do it." Sophia thought.

"We all feel how Francis feels." Eugene thought. As soon as he said it, Francis could feel she was no longer alone. It was as if the four of them were now holding hands outside in the storm.

"I don't like this!" Sophia thought.

"The wind is too strong!" Eugene thought. A gust of wind blew a tree branch toward the kids.

"Watch out!" Adam thought. Francis ducked. The tree branch flew past Francis and careened into Sophia. She didn't get hurt of course. The tree branch bounced off of her like it was made of rubber.

"I'm protected." Sophia thought with shock.

"Of course you are." Francis replied.

"This really is my power." Sophia finally realized.

"I wish it was mine. This wind is brutal!" Eugene thought.

"It's not like I can share it." Sophia answered.

"I can see it! Sophia is covered in a shiny blanket. I think I can touch it! I think I can stretch it!" Adam thought. He reached out with his mind an grabbed the shiny layer. It expanded as he pulled on it. He pulled it over himself then over Eugene and Francis.

"Wow! I'm not gettin' hit by wind anymore." Eugene thought.

"We are protected from the storm." Adam added.

"What about everyone else? My mama and daddy?" Sophia asked.

"Maybe we can protect them too. Can we stretch the blanket to cover them too?" Francis asked, nervousness bleeding through her thoughts.

"I can try." Adam thought. He stretched the blanket once again. A glittering dome formed high above the heroes' heads. It spread out to cover the church. Then it kept going. Down the street the dome covered Francis's house and Sophia's as well. It flowed over the middle school and the elementary school. Eventually it got to Adam's house after covering Eugene's.

A dome of glittering light covered their entire neighborhood, every part the four of them liked anyway. The storm raged, but only outside the glittery dome. Francis could feel the wind and the rain collided with the outside of the dome. It was a sensation on the edge of her mind but she could feel every bit of it.

For four hours the storm battled at the dome's perimeter. Trees were knocked over, streets flooded, and buildings took damage. But the dome stood strong. The inside of the dome was peaceful.

Finally the storm ended. Francis felt relief as the sensation of the storm dissipated.

"It's over." She told the others.

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