His heartbeats were like drum rolls. Not only could he feel them, he could hear them as well. Eyes fixated, pupils dilated, then rapidly moving to catch up with everything happening in his surroundings at once.
He could sense every move of everything, every hum of every sound, and every sensation or thought. All of them, all at once, were connected, meaningful and very timely.
During that first time, Nathan's experience wasn't crystal clear to remember after finally getting out of it. It was hectic, it was chaotic, and extremely unpleasant. It all started when Nathan, a young and clever boy in his early 20s was sorting out some boxes in the dusty and messy basement which no one really ever goes into, since his father mysteriously disappeared five years ago before his mother received a phone call eventually informing her that her husband died in a fire accident and his body was totally gone. As Nathan was down there, he found a small chest carved out of ebony wood with a weird symbol of an eye at the top, small enough it could be held by one hand. He remembers seeing it before but never gave it much attention as it was just an empty wooden black chest that belonged to his grandpa as his dad once told him. While dusting it off he realized that the base of it was suspiciously thicker than it should. Carefully inspecting it he found what seemed like a drawer to the side. Pushing the area that seemed a bit loose, a small drawer popped out, he pulled it all the way out and found a small black tinted lens inside and a piece of paper with the inscription;

"The eyes can't see what is not meant to be seen. The third one only, is what can set you free"

"Nathan.. Come up sweetie. The dinner is ready" his mom shouted from upstairs. "Just a sec'" he replied as he slid the small lens into his pocket, closed the small chest and placed it back where it was.

Later that night when he went to bed, he felt the lens in his pocket so he took it out and started fiddling with it. It seemed pretty normal like any magnifying glass lens except it was tinted black. As he placed it close to his eye and started looking through it, he heard the noise of what sounded like a loud door slam. Other than he almost jumped when he heard the sound, he didn't think much of it, probably his mom slammed a door accidentally, he thought. He placed the lens aside on his bedside cabinet, picked up his phone and started watching some videos online. Instead of getting sleepy like he usually does, he felt more and more awake. To his surprise, sunlight started coming up. He looked at the time and it was already 6:30 AM "How did time go by that fast?" he pondered. The feeling of awakeness started getting more and more intense. Ideas and thoughts in his mind were rushing in nonstop. His attention was getting heightened as he kept watching random stuff. Then he reached a point where he felt like he totally lost control. Everything started feeling like it was directly talking to him, every word in the videos he was watching was being said to him. Commenting on every move he makes and every thought crossing his mind. "It's 12 at noon and you're still in bed?" His mother said as she came into his room. "I.. ca..n't slee...p" he muttered as he stared at her. His mother's eyes looked like two pieces of glass, her face was all serious, she looked and behaved like a total stranger yet she was still his mom. Nathan felt totally lost in his thoughts, and couldn't tell or remember what he wanted to do. He couldn't make the simplest decisions of whether to sit, stand up, walk, talk, or any meaningful thing at all. The only thing functioning way more than it should, was his brain. Analyzing every sound and move around him, and every thought at the speed of light. Whatever subject he thought of, new information and knowledge poured in at an overwhelming rate. Seeing him like that, can't speak, totally lost and almost going in circles in the room now, his mom got worried and told him to put clothes on and that she has to take him somewhere. Hours passed and he found himself in the street dragged by his mom and his uncle out of the car. He had no clue what happened or how he was there, half clothed and half in his pajamas still. He could hear all the voices of the people in the street talking all at once, various topics and enormous waves of thoughts. All looking and hinting at him with the most bizarre and horrifying remarks. All their eyes looked like pieces of glass, and all seemed very serious too. He could see symbols everywhere he looked, he could smell and sense every scent separated on its own in every whiff of air he breathed in, and every single event was precisely timed and synchronized. Now in a room, a flash of light struck his pupils as a person wearing white robe started talking to him asking him questions while pointing a flashlight into his eyes. Nathan didn't speak, but yet he answered everything in his mind and the conversation went on as if that person could hear. Moving from one question to another, and even interacting accordingly to what Nathan was telepathically communicating it seemed. Nathan started to feel less panicked and more confident instead. He started realizing that he didn't have to just be a spectator of the events around him but he could also through his thoughts interfere. He could talk to people without speaking and they could hear. He could control what happens and what doesn't, all through his mind, and every tick of time could be steered by him like he could steer a wheel. Extremely overwhelmed by the sheer amount of things he had to keep up with, however, his mind couldn't handle it all and he would lose his focus and black out.

Back at his home now laying on the sofa, his mom seemed worried and confused, his uncle was talking to her briefly before leaving, then she approached Nathan with some pills. Very weak, shivering, and unfocused he took the pills without understanding anything and was knocked out a few hours later. When he woke up later, he felt well rested though all his muscles felt painful and was really confused. "Are you feeling better honey?" His mom rushed in asking when she heard him trying to get up. "Yeah I think I slept very well, what happened? What time is it?" Nathan asked. "Ha ha, you should be asking what day it is instead" replied his mother happily as she was smiling now in relief. Nathan couldn't remember much of what happened, and started inquiring. At first, his mom was trying to avoid his questions as the doctor instructed her to do, but later on she explained to him how he was acting very strange and how she called his uncle for help and they took him to a doctor. Nathan grabbed the bag of the meds that was next to him and started reading the prescription;

"Used for the treatment of convulsions and Schizophrenia".

"What the hell.. You think I'm crazy?" he exclaimed. "No I thin.." "..Whatever, I might as well be! But I'm not taking those meds again, they cause memory loss" Nathan interrupted her in a firm voice.

Months went by as normal after that incident, then one day when Nathan was looking for his wrist watch in his cabinet drawer he found that black tinted lens thrown in there, memories of what happened that night started to come back. Not thinking much of it, he took a look through it. And suddenly heard that loud door slam noise again. This time, he knew exactly what that meant. Well, maybe not where it comes from or why, but he knew what was coming. His heartbeats were like drum rolls. Not only could he feel them, he could hear them as well. His eyes fixated, pupils dilated, then rapidly moving to catch up with all his surroundings at once.
He could sense every move of everything, every hum of every sound, and every sensation or thought. All of them, all at once, were connected, meaningful and very timely again. Unlike his last time, he didn't panic, and he felt more prepared. A flood of information and an endless ocean of ideas quickly filled up his brain. Like a light bulb turned on, he could feel his mind emanating strong waves. When his mother woke up in the middle of the night, walked into the living room at 4 AM and saw him sitting on the sofa watching TV. She knew what was going on. She hurriedly tried to give him the meds, but he refused. She started arguing but he was replying to her with his thoughts, never speaking a word. Seeing him fixated on the TV she sat down next to him watching. It didn't matter who was on TV, but what mattered was that Nathan was actually in full control of what they say and do. Switching 100s of channels, mind controlling every single one of them, forcing the words he wanted them to say, and the acts he wished to see them play. His mom was completely astonished as she sat there silently watching and listening to the weirdest things she could ever hear or see. Days passed as he was sitting right there, in control of almost everything, no eating or drinking and certainly no sleeping, his ability to communicate and control while keeping calm greatly improved, from the news to weather forecasts, to what shows up where and when on that TV fully controlled by him. Playing on the world stage using the people as if it were all under his fingertips. His mom tried to get him at least to rest a bit, but he kept refusing and she couldn't persuade him without him easily silencing her with his thoughts. She almost went crazy from all that she was seeing and from his unbelievable situation.

Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. In the literal sense this time! Nathan had so much power in his mind, and he could practically do anything he wanted anywhere in the world right from his living room, without even lifting a finger. The only issue was that the more time passed the more heightened his mind was getting, the more awake and stressed his nerves became. And the harder for him it became to control his pulses and everything else in his body, as nothing was automatically functioning anymore. Two weeks went by like that, until his body couldn't handle it anymore and he started to crash. His brain is maximally sharp and elevated, but the flesh could no longer support the mind. His control started slipping right through his fingers, and everything he was controlling started backfiring and directly threatening him. He started getting scared as he knew what he was dealing with. He heard the sounds of police cars outside, looking out the window he could see them encircling the vicinity around his house, shouting through megaphones. "You are surrounded, please come out with your hands above your head, there's nowhere to go". He was scared but wasn't surprised, and he knew this would happen simply from what he learned and found out. Everyone on the TV was criticizing him deeply, though no one could mention his name, and he could feel as if his body was getting stabbed from every side, as if there were ghosts all around him, waiting for that moment to happen so they could take revenge for what he had done. His mom was the only person around the house other than him, tired, frustrated, and confused by what was happening with him. Seeing him shaking and moaning in pain, uttering bits and pieces of unintelligible words, she quickly grabbed the meds and forced him to take them. Which took an almost immediate effect as there was nothing left in his system and his body was hungrily waiting for anything to digest. Still looking outside the window as he was getting very drowsy, the police stopped shouting, and their cars started pulling back and moving away. Scared and worried still, he closed the curtains and could barely make it to the sofa to crash there.

Weak and shivering, he woke up 36 hours later. Looking at himself in the mirror, he looked like a ghost. Very skinny, weak, and pale with black auras around his eyes. This time however, he can remember everything that has happened. He could recall almost every single word and event. He went into the kitchen and started munching whatever food he could find in the fridge, as his body was literally starving and it needed that fuel. It took months for his body to fully recover, but all he could think of was "when is the next flight?".
When he felt ready again, he tried to find the lens, but his mom put it somewhere when she was cleaning, or maybe she found out about it and destroyed it. He kept looking everywhere in the house, but he couldn't find it. Sad and annoyed, he sat on the couch, turned on the TV, and started focusing on what was being said. Trying to heighten his brain activity, imitating what he used to feel when he used that lens. Then suddenly, a rush of energy started building up, his brain activity started powering up and the now familiar door slam sound was heard. This time without using the lens! A grin formed on his face as he said to himself "It's time to play outside this time". He put some clothes on, and walked out...

Days have passed for Nathan's mom back at home, knowing nothing about him, worried, and mostly crying all the time. When the phone started ringing, she quickly picked up the call as she wiped her tears with the other hand, anxiously saying "HELLO?" "Hello ma'am, this is St.Jonathan mental health institution, your son has been brought to us in a very unstable condition. We just wanted to tell you that he's safe and is being treated, you can't come to see him, however, before his situation stabilizes, but rest assured he's in good hands. We will call you again when it's possible" "Omg.. How? Wh.." she tried to ask as the guy on the other end hung up before she could. She quickly looked up the caller ID number and called back, and her jaw started dropping as she heard the answering machine reply; "Welcome to the Central Intelligence Agency call center, please leave a message after the beep stating who you'd like to speak to and the purpose of your call. We will call you back as soon as possible, thank you!
...
... Beeeeeep".

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The Ink Well Prompt #55 : Lens

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