Alpha Nox
Carried on a current of cold air from the car’s a/c, I tasted Hakeem’s fears as though they were my own.
Losing his younger siblings, being forced to live in a world where they no longer existed—that was his greatest fear.
Sensing the fears of others was more of a prelude to my actual abilities, and more often than not I was met with an abundance of superficial night terrors rather than anything substantial.
Spiders, snakes, darkness, clowns. Goddess, why were so many people terrified of clowns? It was rare that I met someone with a fear that delved far beyond the surface, someone with a fear like Hakeem’s.