“We all come across those moments when we journey far into our minds, seeking nothing but the great satisfaction of knowing more about the universe. How significant am I? Is my purpose equivalent to those of others? Every time we ask ourselves one of these questions it brings us closer to ourselves and helps us live our lives fuller. The unfortunate thing is that these questions have been thought about for decades, and all we can do as humans is wonder, for once we are gone, our connection with the world is gone,” Bathilda said, her eyes glued to the window. Joe and I remained silent in the corner of the room, until she spoke again.

“Clearly you have been bestowed with an amazing gift, Luke. How you are destined to use it is definitely a mystery… but not all mysteries are meant to be solved. Where are you planning on heading next?”

Joe stood up quickly and answered before I could. “Seattle. We’re headed across the country. Staying hidden is our only option right now, but thank you so much for the help. We should probably get going now,” he lied, then walked out of the house. I shot Bathilda a quick smile, a wave, and then followed him.

The cold weather slapped me in the face as I chased Joe back down the twisted stone path. I couldn’t wait to leave, though, so it was alright. I mean, not only had this woman not given us any good advice, she had wasted our time, and time is our most important element right now. The sad part is that she could have given us good advice, but Joe decided to lie about where we’re going next!

“Joe, why didn’t you tell her where we’re going? She could have helped us!” I carped. Joe didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled a map out of his backpack, and laid it out on the ground. Questions poured out of me. “What is that?! Where did you get — what does it lead to?” Joe remained silent. He stared long and hard at the map, apparently trying to map something out. I sat next to him and looked at it over his shoulder.

It was a map of the O.D.D Colonies. O.D.D stands for Oddity Danger Department. Their top priority is to eliminate “oddities” like me. They think we pose danger to the world or whatever. It’s pretty ridiculous of you ask me. I mean me, posing danger? Ha! Anyways, they have their own secret Colonies somewhere Washington D.C, and that’s where they plot their evil, I guess. We’ve been trying to avoid them, though… so why would Joe need a map of their Colonies? More importantly… where did he get it?

“Okay, man, you said that Bathilda could help us, and she didn’t. Then you lie to her, storm out of her house, and pull out a map of the Colonies. What is going on?” This time he answered. His eyes still staring at the map, he replied, “I stole the map from her. That’s how she helped us, Luke. Oh, and I lied to her so she didn’t get suspicious.”

Joe almost thought ahead. Now everything made sense… well, almost everything. “Why do we need a map of the Colonies?” I asked politely. Joe put on a fake smile and said even more politely, “Well, I thought we should… go to the colonies! What do you think?” I looked at him with complete disgust and resentment. Before I could speak, Joe interrupted. “Luke, listen… they’re planning something huge there. If we don’t stop it now, we might not even stand a chance,” he explained desperately. As much as I hated to admit it, I kind of agreed with him.

“Okay… but we need a plan. We can’t mess this up. We’ve been through too much,” I replied. We’ve been running away from these goons for too long. Joe stood up and reached into his backpack and pulled out a piece of tree bark. “I snagged this last time we were in Washington D.C.,” he said, handing it to me. I sighed, held it tightly in one hand, grabbed Joe with my other hand, and whispered the rhyme.

“Take me now to where this came, and if there’s more than do the same.”

Next thing we knew, we were at the nation’s capital. I’m the only person in the world who can teleport like that. That’s why I’m an “oddity”… not to mention the other awesome powers I have. Joe doesn’t have any powers, though. He’s just my best friend, and he’s helped me hide from the O.D.D.’s for three years now.

“Okay, we should probably hurry,” Joe said, and we began running through Washington D.C. Joe knew exactly where he was going, but me on the other hand; I had no idea. That’s how it usually is between Joe and I.

After a short run, we came to the famous Reflecting Pool. I stood confused next to Joe. “Okay, Luke, the map says that the secrets lay beneath the mirror. ‘The mirror’ must be referring to the Reflecting Pool… so try using your powers on it,” Joe said quietly. I looked around me to ensure that no one was watching. The coast was clear. I took a huge breath, put my hands out in front of me, and closed my eyes. I pictured the water floating upward, and when I opened my eyes, it was. It revealed a large metal trapdoor.

Joe was the first to run towards it. I followed quickly after him, and we both crawled in. Before I shut it behind me, I made the water fall back into the pool. Joe and I now stood before a long hall way, and a surprised guard. “Luke, code red!” Joe yelled. I can’t remember the last time we had a code red, but I knew exactly what to do.

The muscular guard threw colored orbs in our direction, but I quickly stopped them in mid-air. They fell to the floor and exploded. I then pulled a long rope out of Joe’s bag and threw it at the guard. The guard simply caught the rope and laughed. I then closed my eyes and concentrated. I pictured the rope wrapping around the guard many times. When I opened my eyes, it had happened.

Joe and I simply ran by the now tied up guard and continued down the hallway. We eventually came to the end of the hallway. In front of us now were two doors. One door had a blank, golden plaque, and the other had a blank, silver plaque. We looked at each other, nodded, and pushed open the door with the golden plaque. Inside the door was a long table, about one hundred O.D.D.’s, and the people I haven’t seen for three years: my parents.

My dad, a lean and muscular brunette, ran at me with open arms. “Luke! I’ve missed you so much!” He said, hugging me tightly. My mother remained seated, a horrified look on her face. I pushed my dad off of me. “Dad, what’s going on?” I asked frantically. He walked over to a tall, white-haired, old man.

“Your mother and I met this man the other day and he said he could help us find you!” My dad said with a huge grin on his face. I looked at the old man straight in the eyes. I knew who he was. He was Richard Maxwell, founder of the O.D.D.

“Dad you don’t understand! These people don’t want to help me. They want to kill me!” I yelled. Richard stood up and cleared his throat. His voice sent a chill down my spine. It was an evil, cold, terrible voice. “Luke… nice to see you again.” He said. I looked at Joe, who seemed to be frozen. I grabbed his arm and tried to pull him back into the hallway, but the door was locked.

I thought about what Bathilda said about our purpose was on Earth. It made me think, I may not know my purpose, but I do know that I can’t stop fighting for what’s right. And that is exactly what I did.