[ WP ] Everyone in the world has magic with various levels of mastery over it . You are extremely powerful with almost no control so you find a demon that 's very weak but extremely good at controlling his powers .

`` Sorry!'' I watch as a bolt of lightning careens off the shiny red sports car waiting at the light. It flickers aimlessly into the bright blue sky, quickly followed by a thunderous boom. With a wave of the driver's hand, a blob of mud slowly begins to drift my way. At least I hope it's mud. 
 
 `` I said sorry!'' All I did was put on the brakes to my bike, but I felt the surge of electricity as my fist closed, unable to do anything about it once it began. I tried to aim it out of harm's way to no avail. Still, you'd have thought I conjured up a ring of fire surrounding a gaggle of toddlers based on this guy's reaction. `` Jerk!'' 
 
 The blob splashed harmlessly into the shield I had managed to put up last week while flushing a toilet. This is the first time that little trick has actually come in handy. Otherwise, the only thing I've been shielded against since has been the opportunity to shower. My only solace is that I suspect I'm the only one who can taste my stink. 
 
 Notwithstanding the constant fear of another untimely bolt of lightning, explosion or the like, I continue on my way to the bus stop. I'm heading to St. Mary's, Georgia, following an ad I found in the newspaper just a few days ago. 
 
 
 ARE YOU HAVING TROUBLE CONTROLLING YOUR POWERS? 
 
 ARE YOU PUTTING YOUR LOVED ONES IN DANGER? 
 
 Come to 1473 Oakville Drive, St. Mary's, Georgia 
 
 Ask for Lou 
 
 
 The stop is just up ahead. I slowly, carefully park my bike and manually wrap a chain around it. Most folks would shrink the thing down and carry it in their pocket. Others might cast a flight curse on their bike and travel down south in style. Unfortunately for me, I've never quite been able to do what it is that I wanted to do. It always seemed to come out wrong, usually spectacularly wrong. Chances were good that I'd turn the bike into a crocodile or maybe melt the pavement into toxic sludge. Nope, it's just a good old-fashioned bike chain for me. 
 
 At this point, I find that magic's more a burden than anything else. You can only accidentally flood so many rooms, cause so many objects to unintentionally levitate or generally create so much mayhem before you just decide it's easier to do it by hand. I do n't even drive a car anymore. Last time I did, I literally created a monster truck. His name was Fred. I wonder how he is. 
 
 The bus pulls up almost immediately. It's one of those short white buses that looks like it's for the criminally insane. It's empty but for the driver, but I can still picture an old lady reciting hail maries in the front as some deranged psychopath screams bloody murder in the back. I carefully un-imagine the imagery for fear I might make it a reality. 
 
 `` Headed south?'' The driver seems entirely out of place in this looney bin of a vehicle. He has a finely tuned mustache and soft brown eyes. He would n't hold up for 10 seconds against hail mary Mary, let alone the screamer in the back. His hair is covered by a driving cap that conjures a thought of a sailboat captain more so than a bus driver. 
 
 Ahoy! I just say it in my head. I do n't suspect he'll get my sense of humor. `` Yes sir. How close does your route take me?'' 
 
 `` Take you to where laddy?'' I suppose that was a dumb question on my end. I assumed there was only one reason anybody would ever be taking this godforsaken bus to the boonies, Georgia, 17-0-middle-of-nowhere. Flinging my bookbag down to the ground, again ever so carefully, I dig out the newspaper ad just to be completely sure I get it right. 
 
 `` 1473 Oakville Drive, St. Mary's.'' 
 
 `` We'll go straight there.'' He gives me a hand with my bag. `` I suppose we'd best get you on your way then. Might as well sit up here.'' He gestures toward the chair right behind him. `` Ai n't no point in sitting all the way in the back of the bus given the circumstances.'' I sit and he lurches the silly white bus forward. 
 
 `` So, what all is it that you can do?'' 
 
 `` Pardon me?'' 
 
 `` Well, I take it you're going to see Lou, ai n't ya?'' Right. In a town of a few hundred people, he was bound to know what lay waiting at that address. My mind drifts to thinking about the other people he's probably had to deal with heading to see Lou. I try to stealthily see if there are remnants of any other over-powerful, under-disciplined fools like me that have been in this seat. After a few moments, my eyes catch his and I realize I have n't answered his question. 
 
 `` Quite a bit.'' I'm dodging. `` Hard to say honestly.'' 
 
 This is the first moment he's seemed to frown, but it does n't last long. With a shrug, he replies, `` Well look, we've got about 2 hours to St. Mary's and it seems like it's just gon na be the two of us here. May as well tell me a tale or two along the way. I've never much had any talent for magic.'' He points with a great deal of effort toward the radio. The station changes. `` That's about the most impressive feat I've ever managed.'' He chuckles. 
 
 What the hell, right? `` Fair enough. Let me think.'' 
 
 `` Take your time.'' 
 
 I start sifting through my mishaps. It all started, or at least I remember it started, when I was maybe 10 years old. My mom was nagging me about how my imaginary friend was. She thought it was hysterical. I can still hear her, back turned to me while she cleaned up the dishes, `` So, how's George? Have you introduced him to your friends from school?'' I remember the sting of her sarcasm. `` Do you still walk home with him everyday?'' She laughed under her breath, assuming I did n't hear, but then both Mom and I were startled when a deep voice answered `` Yes,'' and a hulking figure stomped out into the kitchen. 
 
 I realize I've again been silently drifting through thought and have n't said a peep yet. `` Ok. Do you want to hear the one about my graduation?'' 
 
 `` Sounds riveting.'' It was n't clear if that was sincere or not, but he turns down the radio, so I suppose he actually wants to hear. 
 
 `` So, we had just done the whole'go up and get your diploma' thing, and the last speaker, who was the valedictorian, was on stage. He ended his speech with the classic'Congratulations, class of 2008!' and the whole student body erupted with caps flinging into the air. I looked at my parents in the stage, who were both shaking their heads vigorously toward me, but it looked so fun. I grabbed the black square cap from my head and with a great effort tossed it as high as I could into the sky.'' 
 
 `` Every high schooler deserves that moment!'' 
 
 `` Right!?'' I had tried this very argument with my parents the next day. Turns out they had been right anyway. `` Well, at that moment, a crack formed in the roof of the auditorium, bits of wood and plaster slowly started crumbling like the flaky bits of a pie crust.'' 
 
 `` Wow. Was anyone hurt?'' 
 
 `` Everyone managed to clear out of the way, but then a great dragon flew down through the gaping hole of the ceiling. His wings caused a whirlwind that sent the hats feverishly swirling through the air.'' I made a swirling motion with finger, as if the driver did n't understand. `` Then, barely fitting upon the stage, the dragon landed with a booming roar, tilting his head back toward the sky as a torrent of fire and ash spewed upwards to the heavens. He...'' 
 
 I stopped. The driver was staring back at me, rather than the road. I gestured toward an oncoming truck, and he swerved back into his lane. 
 
 `` Oh my!'' The driver awkwardly fumbled about an array of papers on his dashboard and grabbed a thin stack paperclipped together. `` Well that reminds me, would you mind please signing this waiver here? It's the usual'if you're harmed on the bus, you ca n't sue the bus company unless it was caused by my gross negligence or intentional misconduct, et cetera et cetera'. Seems to me we're more likely to be squashed by a giant boulder resulting from a sneeze of yours or end up sliding into a crater you crack open while stretching, eh?'' He chuckles again and clips the tidy little stack onto a clipboard and slides a pen up top, then hands me the lot of it. 
 
 `` Yeah, no problem.'' I uncap the pen and sign next to the `` X''. `` So where are you...'' 
 
 The bus stops. 
 
 The driver is grinning at me in his rearview mirror, his gentle mustache, entirely unchanged, now seems more menacing than endearing. I've never really believed in souls, but I suppose this is what it would feel like to have someone peer into mine. Inside the bus, the temperature is beginning to rise, and I feel a draft from the window I had n't noticed before. Seems like my shield's finally giving way. 
 
 `` Thank you, Theo.'' How does he know my name? `` You may get out now.'' 
 
 I wipe the sweat from my brow and try to take hold of the situation. `` But this is n't the place? I need to go to Oakville Drive. I need to meet Lou!'' 
 
 `` Get out.'' The temperature continues to rise. I can feel my skin broiling. Even the draft is bitter hot. 
 
 I step outside, mostly just for fresh air at this point, and the bus instantly pulls away. As it barrels down the road, I catch a sign on the back. It reads: 
 
 
 ARE YOU HAVING TROUBLE CONTROLLING YOUR POWERS? 
 
 ARE YOU PUTTING YOUR LOVED ONES IN DANGER? 
 
 Come to 1473 Oakville Drive, St. Mary's, Georgia 
 
 Ask for Lou 
 
 
 The van disintegrates into brilliant flame. The bright blue sky has darkened into a deep grey, almost black. The air is both dry and chilly but suffocatingly hot. It smells of rot and smoke. I feel unsteady. 
 
 Against my better judgment, I wave my hand and try to summon a cool breeze. Somewhere, in the distance, a radio changes stations.
