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Psychinian (adapting to podcast audio)

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Please, Edit, add, share, as this is my NaNoWriMo (2004) novel that I've started to convert to a screen writing format to publish as an audio podcast. This document contains explicit adult sexual content that may not be suitable for all readers. I would like to see this as a podcast audio book. If you create something from my work, I'd love to see it grow!

Psychinian

Ronald Pyatt

BEGIN
SCENE: Kard on the roof
NARRATOR
Kard Lowen watched the clear night sky with fascination. It had been a while since he was let outside. The institute never allowed someone in his condition to wander around by himself. It was just too dangerous.
Kard's mind was racing at the possibilities ahead of him. Now that he was free, he could roam the earth looking for answers to his questions, and someone to pass the answers down to. He looks into the night sky.
KARD
I have to find a child of my own.
NARRATOR
Turning around to look at his handiwork, Kard surveyed the rooftop. He didn't remember there being so many bodies laying about, but he guessed it could have been any number. They'd kept him so drugged up, how was he to know how far to push himself. There were fifteen bodies up here. What would he do with them all?
Kard allowed his mind to reach out like a tendril, creep along the roof and touch each of the bodies. His psychic strength had grown since he had last used them.)
KARD
Hmmm, what were they pumping me with?
NARRATOR
Kard looked over his hands.
NARRATOR
His mind reached out and searched for a living mind. Someone to help him gain a better picture of the what he had just done. A second tendril of thought reached from his mind. Kard imagined it looked like the flowing arm of a cartoon pie's odor attracting one of the many characters to the window ledge where it cooled. Then a third tendril reach out and searched for a living mind here on the roof.
As his mind touched a body, he could feel the cold emptiness of the husk these people had left behind. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, but he needed to know if anyone was alive. His eyes teared up from the death, as though he were morning the loss of people he cared for.
No one on the roof was living. He looked up at the night again.
KARD
They're all dead.
NARRATOR
His arms spread out in a helpless gesture to indicate he'd checked. What was he to do?
Kard heard the sirens screaming in the night air. They were too far away to be of any use to him. He wanted to talk to some one. He had to know how long he'd be away. Kard sent out his mental tendrils down into the building below him. He found very little he could use. All the sane people were dead. For that matter, all the insane ones were dead as well. At least on the 2nd floor. On the first floor, someone did stir.
He tried to wrap his mind around the person he found, but was unable to get a clear picture of who it was. It was a man, but not a patient. That's when the full realization of where he was hit him.
KARD
I've been a patient here. Why have I been a patent here?
NARRATOR
Kard screamed aloud, as if his words could reach the mind he'd found and lend force to his thoughts. He reeled in pain as something struck his mind and sent him stumbling back. He was too close the edge of the roof, and had to drop his body flat to the rooftop and grab hold of the side to keep from falling off.
Whoever that was he'd attempted to contact was not a normal person. Kard believed that man on the first floor was an oddity, a freak of nature. No one should have that much power. Power enough to resist the effects of his mental probe. Kard also believed people should not get that strong. Never strong enough to push back.

SCENE: Nepal wakes
NARRATOR
Nepal Chambers was having a dream. It felt like a dream, but one of those ones you couldn't wake up from. There was a nebulous monster, dark and hazy, with many limbs. It reached out and smashed things. People were jumping out of the way, trying to avoid the crashing arms of darkness, but they were unable to avoid the crushing blows. One of the arms came toward him, and he raised his arms crossed over his head in defense. There was a brief pain, and the lights went out.
Nepal felt something cold crawling on his skin. He opened his eyes and squirmed about in a fit, slapping away creepy crawlers. There were no bugs on him, Nepal realized, and chill ran down his spine as the cold crawling on his skin increased in intensity.
NEPAL
What the hell?
NARRATOR
Like a light switch, his mind flickerd toward the source of his discomfort and lashed out with a mental swat, imaging a huge hand flicking away an annoying insect.
The crawling sensation stopped at once, but the coldness remained. He looked around for signs of an intruder into his bedroom and found he was not at home in bed. He was on the floor at work, behind the admissions desk. He was at the Mental Health Center. He got up, as wakefulness reinforced reality into his mind.
Looking around the admissions area, five people were laying about as though they had collapsed. Nepal rushed around the desk and over to the closest person. He checked for a pulse. When he found none, he moved to the next and found no sign of life. When he reached the 5th person, he noticed down the hall in laying in and out of doors were other collapsed people.
One of the bodies was Tim Brady, a guy he'd come to like despite they guy's annoying laugh.
NEPAL
What happened here?
NARRATOR
Something told Nepal that Tim was dead. They were all dead.
Suddenly, Nepal's senses grew deceptively sharper. He could hear the tiny electronic sounds coming from behind his desk. This place sounded deserted, empty in a way he'd never imagined. He felt the need to seek out anyone that may need his help. He went back to the desk and dialed out to reach anyone in the building. First, he tried office by office, but then thought he'd try the intercom. Pressing "#901"
NEPAL
Anyone in the building? Please call the front desk.
NARRATOR
But he suddenly knew that no one would answer.
NEPAL
Please, anyone. Pick up a phone and dial Zero.
NARRATOR
He refused the idea that everyone in the building was dead.
He was right to deny everyone was dead, for he felt someone's presence. He knew someone else in the building was alive.
NEPAL
Please, if you can hear me. Pick up the phone and dial Zero
NARRATOR
He got the feeling this someone was watching him, and turned around to look.
NEPAL
No one living in sight.
What was going on here? What happened to everyone? Poison? Gas?
NARRATOR
He tried to recall the last thing he could remember before he'd blacked out.
"FLASHBACK MUSIC"
SCENE: Flush it again
NARRATOR
Sitting behind the desk, Nepal finished entering that last hour's logs. The computer flashed its usual "Completed" message at the bottom of the screen.
NEPAL
Nothing left to do (mumbles)
NARRATOR
then realized he had to finish filing the miscellaneous folder he'd stuck in the filing cabinet the night before. He got up to do just that.
No sooner then he'd opened the cabinet, the phone rang. (RING RING)
NARRATOR
He checked the clock. 3:05 AM.
NEPAL
Funny. Who'd be calling at this time of night?
"Medical Health, admissions desk,"
NARRATOR
Expecting it to be one of his bosses checking up on him. Not that he'd ever given them any reason to check up on him.
A woman's voice. She was familiar, but he could not place the name.
MRS. CARVER
Oh, I think I might have the wrong number. My fridge is overheating. I can't seem to get it to flush right.
NEPAL
Hello? Who is this? Crank caller.
NARRATOR
He looked down to see a light flashing on the phone. It indicated this person was calling from the second floor.
NEPAL
Mrs. Carver? Is that you?
NARRATOR
Then he could hear the receiver drop.
NEPAL
Hello!
NARRATOR
He cried out as loud as he dare. He didn't want to disturb the residence if he didn't have to. This place had a way of taking a sound and amplifying it in a way that was always directly proportional to the number of patients that heard the sound.
Footsteps racing down a stairway abruptly stopped and picked back up again to a leisurely pace. It was Brian Henderson in his lab coat coming down.
BRIAN
I'm having trouble finding the bathroom
NARRATOR
It was Brian. Then he turned and ran back up the stairs. Brian was the kind of prankster you could leave in a room for a short while, and when you'd come back, everything in the room would be rearranged. Always looking for a good joke, he'd have you laughing inside of 5 minutes of first meeting him.
The door to Marsha Lake's office opened and closed, and opened again. Nepal could see her office clearly. Tim was stepping out of her office and then stepping back in. As though he'd entered the wrong room and was going to try another.
NEPAL
Tim? Are you alright?
NARRATOR
Tim looked a little shocked at the interruption.
TIM
Excuse me, I'm having trouble finding the bathroom.
NARRATOR
And he stepped back into the office resuming his trek through the door and back out again.

NEPAL
Is this a joke? What's going on guys?
NARRATOR
Down the hall someone yelled
MAN #1
Flush it again!
NARRATOR
It got cold in the room. The temperature dropped twenty degrees. Nepal broke out in a cold sweat. It felt like he had to use the bathroom. He tried to look in the drawers for a toilet, but has having trouble find it. There were too many files to go through. The toilet had to be in there somewhere.


SCENE: Jueqel feels a mind quake
NARRATOR
It was at the Red House that Jueqel felt the surge of psychic energy, a little after 2 AM. The crisp mountain air was just starting to do him some good. He'd had enough of tracking espers for a while. They'd have to do without him for the time being. At least that's what he'd hoped.
JUEQEL
That was a mind quake.
NARRATOR
Someone very powerful had just discovered their abilities. More than that, the surge was far greater than he had ever encountered.
The Resonance Organization, Thero, wasn't about to let anyone like that pass by unnoticed, and this time even those that were only slightly sensitive would have felt that surge half way around the world. Not that distance had anything to do with it.
JUEQEL
Oh, I'd hate to see their nightmares.
NARRATOR
He had to piss, and went to find the restroom.


JUEQEL
Well, they'll be calling me soon enough.
I'd better get ready. Wonder why the precogs didn't see this one coming?
NARRATOR
Jueqel sent his mind out to get a snapshot of those in the house. Not surprisingly, he found everyone in the house was awake. What was surprising was everyone headed for a nearby toilet.
JUEQEL
That was one some mind quake. If it was strong enough to get through our defenses, everyone in the country must have felt it... Blanks included.


SCENE: Oragwains
NARRATOR
Drusoc Narian sat up with a start. He was covered in sweat. Although, the night air was warm, he did not think it was merely the heat. Something disturbed his sleep. It was a dream, but he couldn't remember what happened in it. He looked around the camp and all appeared quiet, but there was something out there. He could feel it in his bones.
Laying next to him, Kefen Narian, opened his eyes.
KEFEN
Dru? What's wrong?
DRUSOC
Nothing, I just have to pee.
NARRATOR
in a tone that indicated Kefen was supposed to go back to sleep.
Kefen's mind sent out a sharp slap across Dru's face.
KEFEN
Don't shut me out. What's wrong?
DRUSOC
(pleading) I'll tell you when I get back. Can I have a moment, please?

NARRATOR
Kefen decided he, too, had to go. Others in the camp got up, and one by one, they each took turns out in the jungle.
Kefen returned to camp and found Dru squatting in front of an area he had cleared of leaves, drawing with a twig. Dru pointed to the crude map of north America he had drawn.
DRUSOC
This is where the disturbance originated. I can see the place in my mind's eye. There were many deaths. I fear we must return to The States, at least for a little while.
KEFEN
Are you remote viewing now? Can you show me this place?
NARRATOR
Dru nodded and placed his hand on Kefen's cheek to make their mental link stronger.
DRUSOC
See
NARRATOR
And their minds opened to each other, like so many times before. Images came rushing into Kefen's mind, jumbled and out of place. Then a clarity of vision allowed him to see to the place Dru was looking. It was a building 2 stories high with a man about to fall off the edge. The man wore a white robe that tied in the back. A patient.
DRUSOC KEFEN
This man murdered. This man murdered.
NARRATOR
Dru guided Kefen's vision down through the passages of the building, through the rooms and offices.
DRUSOC KEFEN
He murdered all those people. All, but one.
NARRATOR
Their vision returned to the man on the rooftop. He had crawled back away from the edge. The white robed man began to look around as if he was trying to find someone. Then he looked directly at Dru/Kefen. Their skin began to crawl with a cold sensation.
Their remote viewing stopped almost at once. Dru presses his palms to his temple warding off a headache. Kefen was breathing heavy, waiting for his eyes to adjust to back his current surroundings.
The others in the camp had gathered around, but kept a respectful distance. Interrupting a viewing was considered rude, and sometimes dangerous. Cheshin knelt down beside the two.
CHESHIN
What was that? I felt it. It was so cold on my skin.
NARRATOR
It was not really felt on Cheshin's skin, only a residual empathic reading, but Dru decided not to correct him. Cheshin quieted as he felt the mild corrective thought.
DRUSOC
It was cold, you got that right.
It may be the work of one of the Houses of Power. I don't think Thero is behind this, but perhaps the Tantra's or the Yogan, or even the Seishin.
NARRATOR
Everyone nodded but Cheshin.
CHESHIN
It is not Seishin. I can feel them now. They are deeply troubled. They want to speak with us.
NARRATOR
Cheshin's eyes started to glaze over, but stopped.
CHESHIN
I'll go to them. I will be back soon.
NARRATOR
The air around him shimmered, and he was gone the next moment.
Etten was standing in the back.
ETTEN
I hope its not Oragwain.
NARRATOR
Dru stiffened
DRUSOC
No! Dr. Oragwain is no more.

NARRATOR
Kefen, too, felt the contact of a someone reaching out for him. A voice of power rose in his mind, attempting to clear itself a path to speak. It was Jueqel whose message he received in the spotty flash of someone less skilled in telepathy.
JUEQEL
Kefen will you come? Urgent.
KEFEN
Thero wants something from us. I think we are needed there.
NARRATOR
Dru considered this and turned to everyone in the camp.
DRUSOC
Yes, we will go, but you others must try to reach the other Houses of Power. Find out what has to be done and who is behind this. Lets keep in constant contact. Remember, there is safety in one mind.
SEVERAL MINDS
We must be one mind. We must be one mind. We must be one mind.
NARRATOR
The others chanted, "one mind."


SCENE: Somebody's watching
NARRATOR
Someone was watching him. Kard could feel it. It was a warm wash of emotion. Pity, he decided, an emotion he had not felt in a long time. Someone was feeling pity for him.
KARD
How strange.
NARRATOR
He stood up from the rough surface and stepped back from the edge of the roof. Little rocks clung to his skin, impressing their tiny ovoid shapes into him leaving pock marks like a hail damaged car. He brushed the pebbles away. That's when he noticed he was not completely dressed. He felt vulnerable with his backside showing in the night.
The feeling of being watched was on him again. This time stronger. He looked around for anyone, but found no one nearby. Frantic, he took to looking in unlikely place on the rooftop passing as close as he dare to the edge and attempting to surprise anyone behind the large A/C unit.
Finding nobody, again, he sensed more eyes upon him. Someone was invading his space. He could feel it.
KARD
Who is there?
NARRATOR
He reached out with his mind. A tendril of thought, dark and shadowy, tasting the air around him, seeking out the intruder. Another tendril reached out from his mind licking at his surroundings. Then another mental probe shot out in a desperate attempt to find the eyes watching him. He found something. People, a group of them, focused upon him. Eying him.
NARRATOR
Voyeurs.
Come to take stock of a half-naked man on a roof?
NARRATOR
His tendrils reached out for the watchers and tried to grab them. They were slippery minds. He could not get a grip on their thoughts. He felt one of them lurch toward him. It was fear, loathing, and something like, what? Curiosity? It was hard to tell, but yes. It must have been curiosity.
He followed the the curious line of thought that reached for more information. He seized upon it and pulled as hard as he could. The watchful minds reacted quickly and cut his tendrils free. They were gone.
Kard filled his lungs with air and cried out in frustration. A steady scream burst forth from his lungs enhanced by his psychic ability. The result was a wave of sound that exploded outward, causing nearby windows to shatter.

SCENE: Nepal calls the police
NARRATOR
It was deathly quiet in the building. Bodies lay everywhere. Nepal dialed the police and got a recording to please hold. He left the line open and turned up the volume on the speaker phone. If someone came on the line, he'd hear it. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched.
He searched the first floor looking for any signs of life. Starting at the entrance, he made his way around to each room on the first floor of the building. Every body needed to be checked for a pulse. Relying on a rooms-check pattern he was familiar with, he crossed the hall and went to the first room along this path. After searching half the rooms on this floor, he realized he was avoiding the stairs.
NEPAL
Why am I avoiding the stairs.
NARRATOR
Not expecting an answer, he got one. Not in words, but a feeling, a sense of knowing. Someone was up there. Something was up there. He decided to save the stairs for last. Then he'd go up to check on the others that were undoubtedly up there.
When he reached Tim Brady, Nepal's heart sank. He'd just been talking to this guy. How could he be dead like this?
A loud voice rang out down the hall way from the speaker phone.
DISPATCHER
(sounded winded) 9-1-1 Emergency, is this an actual emergency?
NARRATOR
Nepal scrambled up and ran over to his desk
NEPAL
Yes! Yes! This is an emergency."
DISPATCHER
Hello. Is anyone there? I need someone to confirm. Is this an actual emergency? Can you hear me?
NARRATOR
He picked up the receiver.
NEPAL
(Out of breath) Yes, this is an emergency.
DISPATCHER
(take-a-number tone) Sir, I'm sorry, keep calm. Officers are extremely busy right now. What is the nature of your emergency?
NEPAL
Yes, this is an emergency.
There are bodies everywhere.
DISPATCHER
Sir, did you say bodies?
NEPAL
Yes, everyone in the building is dead. I'm trying to find someone that might be alive.
DISPATCHER
Sir, stay where you are. I will find some officers to send your way.
NEPAL
I'm going to the second floor. I need to check on those patients.
DISPATCHER
Sir, please, stay where you are. Officers are on their way. They will handle the situation. I need you to tell me more about what has happened. Can you do that, Sir?
NEPAL
Ah, yes. I can, but those people.
DISPATCHER
I understand, Sir. Those people need help. We are sending someone right away. Can you tell me what happened?
NARRATOR
He started to tell the dispatcher what he could remember, but she interrupted him.
DISPATCHER
Sir, I need you to calm down. What's your name?
NEPAL
Nepal.
DISPATCHER
Nepal?
NEPAL
Yes.
DISPATCHER
Hi Nepal, my name is Sally. Are you in immediate danger? Is someone threatening you right now?
NEPAL
No. I'm alone, I think. Just the bodies.
DISPATCHER
Do you have a weapon?
NEPAL
No. I think there might be something in the closet I could use.
DISPATCHER
No, no. That's O.K. Don't worry about it. Help is on the way. Alright?
NEPAL
Yes.
NARRATOR
He noticed his voice was considerably calmer. That meant he probably sounded like a madman when he first began talking to her.
DISPATCHER
O.K. Now, Nepal? Please, slowly explain to me what has happened.
NEPAL
Sally, ah, it was strange. I was sitting at the desk. Mrs. Carver called me and started talking crazy, then Tim had to use the mens room, but he couldn't find it. Someone was running down the stairs, but I don't remember who that was, and then they turned around and went back upstairs.
NARRATOR
Something tickled the back of his mind, and some thoughts occurred to him. He had to get upstairs, and she was trying to keep him busy. She was distracting him. She mistrusted what he was saying. and thought he might be crazy. She'd keep this up until the police arrived.
NEPAL
She thinks I may be the killer.
NARRATOR
He did not know why he had known this, but he was sure it was true.
DISPATCHER
Then what happened, Nepal?
DISPATCHER
Sally, the police are here. Thanks.
NEPAL
Sir, No. Don't hang. (CLICK.)
NARRATOR
He had wasted enough time. The police were on their way, and that was good. They would take care of the situation, but he got the feeling that it would be too late by then. Whoever had done this was up there.
He dreaded what might lay ahead, but he started up the stairs anyway, finding two bodies along the way.
NEPAL
All these people, killed. Why was I not killed? Could the dispatcher be right in not trusting me? Am I the killer?


SCENE: A meeting at Thero house
NARRATOR
Jueqel was alone in a meeting room on the first floor. He supposed it didn't matter which floor he should be on, but he felt a little safer being at ground level. He paced around a small table waiting for an answer. Eying the papers he'd just read. When no one responded immediately he sat back and closed his eye and allowed his thoughts to drift over the earlier event, but was interrupted with a disturbance in the room.
He looked to the spot in the room where the air shimmered, announcing the arrival of a teleporter.
JUEQEL
You got my message. Thanks for coming so quickly. I wasn't sure if I'd sent it out correctly.
NARRATOR
A slender young man, just under 6 foot tall, with curly auburn hair faded into the room.
KEFEN
You felt the thing, same as us. (voice echoed in as if passing through a tunnel)
NARRATOR
Jueqel greeted him with a warm smile.
JUEQEL
"Hello, Kefen."
NARRATOR
Another shimmer appeared next to Kefen
DRUSOC
"I've never felt such power. (voice echoed as if passing through a tunnel)
NARRATOR
Then Dru appeared next into the room. Dru's dirty blond hair was matted down close to his face.
The pair were dressed in simple drawstring breeches, barefoot, and gathered shirts. They appeared ready for a Scarborough fair event, but Jueqel chose not to mention it.
JUEQEL
I'll never get over how you guys do that. (touch of jealousy in voice)
NARRATOR
Dru smiled.
DRUSOC
Cheshin said he would teach you.
NARRATOR
Dru's perfect teeth bright as toothpaste, almost sparkled even in the low lights of the room.
Oragwains were so physically perfect, and their minds were strong.
JUEQEL
How could one man have created these beautiful creatures? (INNER VOICE)
NARRATOR
Kefen picked up on his thoughts,
KEFEN
We're not perfect. We're peaceful. We've only come to help because we know that something terrible has happened.
JUEQEL
You haven't aged a single day. How can you not be perfect when you remain young and strong?
NARRATOR
This time he could hear his own jealousy.

DRUSOC
Enough. Another time. What do you know about this thing that kills with its mind?
JUEQEL
Yes, well. You're right. (SHUFFLING PAPERS.) Ah, his name is Karden Lowen. He was assigned to us two years ago. He had had a psychotic episode, and that's what brought him to our attention, and we decided to intervene. We were keeping him sedated.
NARRATOR
Jueqel went on further to explain Thero's involvement. Prior to being admitted into the hospital, Karden was a Psychinian candidate due to his parents psychic activities. His father ended up missing for several months, but he showed up at a hospital under a John Doe. His mother ended up in a convent and died two years ago. They figured that was what triggered Karden's breakdown. By this time, they all but ruled him out as being a Psychinian.
DRUSOC
There was someone else in the building. A surviver.
NARRATOR
Dru and Kefen had been in constant communication with each other. Jueqel wondered if they were all connected in their "One Mind". It made sense that they would be.
JUEQEL
We felt him, too, but couldn't detect any psychic activity. His name is Nepal Chambers. I don't think he's a blank, though.
KEFEN
I agree.
No blank could have survived the slaughter. He's dormant. The killer wasn't able to get to him then, but that doesn't mean he could go head to head with this thing.
NARRATOR
Jueqel noticed they kept calling Karden a thing... an it... as though they wanted to keep him far removed from humanity.
NARRATOR
Kefen picked up on Jueqel's thoughts,
KEFEN
That creature is no longer human. It must be dealt with. Destroyed.
DRUSOC
However, it will take more than a hand full of Oragwains to take this thing out. Whatever it is, it has awakened. It was strong enough to force everyone on Earth to urinate, and that was before it was fully aware of its surroundings. We don't know what it will do next, but there will be more death as a result.
JUEQEL
Our precogs are working on the potentials, but they're having trouble picking him out of the possible futures.
KEFEN
Cheshin says, "hi."
NARRATOR
This struck Jueqel as an odd interruption, but said hi back. This was a serious matter, and he didn't think it would be appropriate to socialize.
DRUSOC
Cheshin likes you, you know.
JUEQEL
Can we not do this just now?
NARRATOR
Jueqel felt a little embarrassed.
JUEQEL
There is a killer on the loose.


SCENE: Nepal meets Kard
NARRATOR
The sound of shattering glass startled Nepal as he walked up the stairs.
NEPAL
Was that a scream?


NARRATOR
He lost his footing and slipped catching himself on the railing. His knee hit down on the hard step, accompanied by a loud popping sound from under the kneecap. Pain shot through his leg and up his spine. He managed to keep from crying out as he cradled his leg.
He feared he may have seriously injured himself and carefully checked for wetness under his pant leg. He touched a sensitive spot at the joint. He winced more from the anticipated pain then any actual pain. It hurt like hell, but he'd live. Relieved, he continued up the stairs.
NEPAL
That was a scream.
NARRATOR
His pace up the stairs slowed. He didn't want to chance another spill, and he dreaded whatever was on the second floor. Or was it the roof?
He'd never been on the roof of the building. As far as he knew, no one had ever gone up there, and he didn't know why he was thinking it now. But sure as his knee hurt, there was someone on the roof. It was a patient. He was sure of that too. It had to be a patient.
NEPAL
Nepal? Are you sure you want to do this?
NARRATOR
Of course, he had wanted to do this. How could he not?
The top of the stairs opened up into a common room. He could smell the coffee coming from the nook in the corner. It was a few hours old, but he guessed no one cared for a cup at the moment. He looked and found the night watchman was actually laying next to the coffee pot. Its contents spilled onto the floor.
He tried to remember where the roof entrance was. It didn't come to him right away, but after a short search he remembered the door once he spotted it.
He made his way to the door and stopped. Someone was coming.
NEPAL
How can I know that?
NARRATOR
But it was true. He had known it. The sensation was getting stronger, and they were going to be coming from that door.
Nepal's pulse was racing. Whoever it was that killed these people, they were coming. Right through that door.
NEPAL
The murderer is coming, "and his name is Kard."
NARRATOR
The door leading to the roof flew off its hinges and went flying back toward Nepal. It landed less than a yard from where he stood.
Karden stepped through the doorway and walked toward Nepal. His eyes were an intense blue that seemed to have a florescence about them, a light all their own. Karden cocked his head to one side, as if to listen to something, and a second later, Nepal felt an icy touch caress his skin.
NEPAL
No.
NARRATOR
He knew this man was causing this discomfort.
NEPAL
Stop.
NARRATOR
Karden smiled like a boy who just discovered an exciting new toy.
KARD
You are not like them.
NARRATOR
He gestured to the corpses.
KARD
You taste different.
NARRATOR
Taste? He wanted to ask what Karden had meant by taste, but then got an additional tactile sensation. Something or some things were crawling on him. He quickly checked his arm, but nothing was on him. The crawling things were cold and it felt like ice biting into him.
Like the door that was holding back Karden a moment before, the door holding back Nepal's fear had at that moment let loose.



SCENE: You taste good
(FLASHBACK MUSIC)
NARRATOR
Kard knew they were coming for him. Only, he didn't know how long it would take them. They had seen what he did. Someone is nearby. Kard surveyed the rooftop.
KARD
Is someone there?
NARRATOR
He was sure someone was there, but couldn't quite place the feeling.
KARD
Deja Vu, maybe.
NARRATOR
No, of course not. Someone was in the building. It was the one who resisted him earlier.
A cool breeze struck his back and flung his poor excuse of a gown out in front of him and then up over his head. A prickle of goose flesh poured over the surface of his skin from head to toe. Anger flashed in him. It was an anger directed at the world. Anger at those who put him in the gown. Anger at the wind for making him cold. Anger at the gown for obstructing his vision and distracting him from his goals.
He grabbed the gown with his hands and with his mind and ripped it from him. It went flying out from the rooftop, catching fire as it did. A brief, but bright, flame erupted in the night where the gown hung in the air. It burned quickly, and he very much liked the feeling he got from the burning. Although he could barely feel the warmth, he gained much more pleasure from the act of burning itself. He could feel the tension within his body release.
He walked to the edge of the roof following the drifting bits of cloth embers. He was no longer concerned about being pushed over the side. Another breeze raked over his flesh, and sent another wave of goose pimples to wash over him.
KARD
(Frustrated) I tossed my only protection against the elements.
NARRATOR
Before he could scold himself, he noticed clothing on the ground. Dead people just happened to be wearing the cloths.
No longer afraid he would be pushed over the edge, he leaned out and sent his mental tendrils down to seize one of the bodies. He noted the the lifeless body had no taste to it, as he telekinetically brought it to him. But he could remember how this one tasted. He had fed off this one's life force. He had fed on the life force of everyone nearby.
Working with his hands and his mind to remove the shirt and pants from the body, he put on the clothes.
KARD
Ah, that's better.
NARRATOR
He discarded the body and useless undergarments and faintly noticed the sound of the corpse he'd tossed as it hit the pavement below.
KARD
Now, where was-
NARRATOR
But before he could finish the thought, he sensed that someone looking for him.
He sent a mental tendril out to find this someone, this creature, for he did begin to think of the man who survived him as a creature. Ever so lightly, so as not to attract notice, the tendril poked and prodded down to the second floor. A picture of the man came into Kard's mind.
Nepal had dark hair, olive skin, and slightly Asian facial features. He found the creature to be quite lovely.
KARD
Why lovely?
NARRATOR
Kard allowed his tendril get closer to the creature.
Cautiously, he moved the tendril in to touch the creature. He resisted the temptation to seize upon this creatures life force and drain it as he had the others. Kard found he could almost taste, no wait. He found he actually could taste a power within the creature. The tendril passed over Nepal's shoulder.
Nepal looked in his direction. Kard was afraid he had been seen, but that was not the case. The creature was just looking in the direction of the stairs.
He felt a hunger come into him. A need to satisfy an appetite he never knew he had.
NARRATOR
(LAUGHTER) I have to meet this creature.
NARRATOR
Once again Kard's mind was on the roof. He was not surprised to find he was already walking down the stairs. He was anxious to see this creature in person.
The door stood in his way, and Kard's patients for the mundane was very thin. He thrust a psychic burst of frustration on the door, throwing it forward. He walked in and drank in the fear emanating from Nepal. No, this creature tasted nothing like the corpses laying about.
Kard said something to Nepal, but was too wrapped up in the moment to recall what that might have been.

SCENE: Cheshin's Viewing
NARRATOR
Cheshin had finished going over the recent events with the virtual clones of House Seishin. He learned very little that was new. They were more interested in what information they could gain from him. Throughout the meeting he attempted to keep part of his thoughts focused and turned inward to the "one mind", but found their voices had faded on occasion. Other thoughts intruded upon him, visions trying to impress themselves into his consciousness.
He was alone on a balcony, taking a break from the endless chatter of the White House. He began to wonder why they called each house by a different color, but stopped himself.
CHESHIN
Stay focused.
NARRATOR
Was that Kefen sending him a message to stay on track?
KEFEN
Yes, it's me, And I don't know why the Houses of Power have colors. Maybe we should ask? Jueqel is here. Would you like to talk to him?
NARRATOR
Kefen had asked casually, as if he would simply hand over a cell phone to Jueqel to have a quick chat.
CHESHIN
I know he's there. Tell him I said, 'hi'.
NARRATOR
Cheshin leaned against a wall and closed his eyes to help him focus. He could not afford to think about Jueqel. Behind his closed eyes he could see his pulse in dark patterns. A vague outline of a room with people sleeping on a floor traced itself in the canvass of his eyelids.
CHESHIN
Funny, I don't have premonitions, but I feel something approaching.
NARRATOR
Kefen and Cheshin heard the additional voices enter their thoughts. The "one mind" had its advantages and disadvantages. Cheshin never had to be alone. The voices were soothing. They help him get through troubles. He could share in the experience of many lifetimes wrapped into one. Cheshin thought he could loose himself in that, both a comforting and terrifying thought at once. They all had that thought. He was glad the "one mind" was something they could leave every so often.
ETTEN
I think the power is building, again.
Also, the Tantra's have started their meld, and I can't stay for that.
NARRATOR
He projected the sensations he was feeling. He sent images of warm bodies beginning to intertwine. Each member, entranced, reached out for one another, contorting their bodies like human ribbons. Cheshin could feel the heat pour out from the members of House Tantra.
Dru informed the "one mind" that the monster named Karden, or Kard, was chasing or going after someone.
DRUSOC
A man called Nepal. Only Nepal appears to be tracking the monster, too.
CHESHIN
Show me.
NARRATOR
Cheshin opened his mind to what Dru was viewing. The vision wasn't coming in clear, but he could make out in the scene that a door had flown across the room. A sense of urgency gripped him, eminent danger. Desperate to know more, Cheshin attempted to seize hold of the remote viewing. Dru intuitively resisted the attempt, but released his control when Cheshin would not relent.
Pushing his mind, Cheshin strained to see more. He could almost see the room. He could see the door laying in front of Nepal. He tried harder to make out whatever was in the room. He could have sworn Nepal was looking at him. He almost had it. He saw Nepal's facial expression was one of shocked surprise.
CHESHIN
This is it.
NARRATOR
Cheshin redoubled his effort to focus in on the scene.
His vision rippled like waves of heat across a hot surface. Then things got easier to see. With perfect clarity, Cheshin was actually viewing the room where Nepal stood. Never before had he seen a vision so accurate. He felt immersed in the vision itself. An untimely bout of nausea rushed upon him, but he suppressed it. There was time for discomfort later. He turned his head to see more, only to realize he was no longer just viewing. He had made a mistake and teleported into the room next to Nepal.

SCENE: Suppress
JUEQEL
So, the sooner we confront this guy, the better.
NARRATOR
Though, it sounded more like a question then any solid conclusion. There was no immediate reply. Stepping behind his chair, Jueqel absently stared through the window at the nothingness that lay outside.
JUEQEL
The night had a way of hiding things you wanted to see.
NARRATOR
No comments? When nothing was added to the conversation, he turned away from the night view to look at the men to whom he was speaking.
That's when he noticed the psychic activity in the room had increased. It happened so often in the Red House, Jueqel got used to just tuning out the psychic pulses. Besides, he had been so preoccupied with his own train of thought, he may not have noticed anyway.
Completely ignoring Jueqel, Dru and Kefen were deep in thought. Their eyes were open, but the unblinking gaze spoke of power in use. No doubt, off in their own world. Dru was sweating, and he mumbled something about Nepal.
JUEQEL
What is it, Kefen?
KEFEN
(slurred and dream like) Dru is remote viewing the mental hospital. It's not a very clear viewing...
Cheshin is starting to panic, I think. It's hard to tell. Something's blocking me from getting much. I think he's trying to get a better look, but-


NARRATOR
The air around Kefen and Dru shimmered briefly. Kefen swayed back and lost his balance. His legs gave out from under him and he landed on his side. He managed to keep from falling completely and sat on the floor, arms braced. He was breathing heavily.
Then Kefen did something completely unexpected, something Jueqel had never seen nor ever heard an Oragwain ever do. He bent forward and retched onto the floor. Although he could not know it, yet. This was the beginning of disillusion for Jueqel's image of the perfect Oragwains.
Jueqel practically bowled over two chairs to get to where Kefen sat. Dru just stood there, oblivious to Kefen's state. Kefen held up a hand, palm out in a gesture that bade Jueqel stop. So, Jueqel moved no closer.
KEFEN
Cheshin's with Nepal and that monster. I can't see where they are anymore
NARRATOR
Dru had sweat coming off of him in buckets, and what looked to be, Jueqel guessed, what could only be tears?
KEFEN
Help Dru. (pleading desperate voice)
His mind is caught in a psychic storm and he is getting lost.
Suppress his thoughts! Now! (reverberating echo psychic voice)
NARRATOR
Jueqel instinctively obeyed and let out his own pulse of psychic energy. However, this pulse was different. Instead of the flood of power, the sensations of dream spread over reality, the world around them quieted. Psychic activity stopped. Jueqel suppressed power usage and no longer felt the urge to suppress Dru's thoughts. The world was calm.
Dru fell forward and hit his head on the arm of a chair.

SCENE: Surreal introductions
NARRATOR
The lights flickered in the open room, adding to the almost tangible eeriness found in the movies. Terror nearly overwhelmed Nepal, and in a way, it did. Later he would come to recognize it as the "fight-or-flight" response anyone in his position might have been faced, but for now, this was Nepal's moment.
His terror turn in upon itself, and Nepal imagined Karden coming not for him, but for someone else. Some other Nepal standing in the same place as himself. He pushed the truth of the moment aside with such force, he plainly saw Karden was going after the other man. This man was similar to, nay identical to, Nepal, but he would not recognize that Nepal was him.
The crawling he felt on his skin, on the other Nepal's skin, intensified. The lights flickered again as if in response to Karden's ever increasing bug count. But the lights were not going out, he could tell. It was only the other Nepal's eyes that could see the lights fade in an out in a rapid rhythmic beat. The icy bites were wearing into him, and Nepal watched as his double started to loose his color. A trigger was tripped and an explosion went off in Nepal's mind. He needed to defend that Nepal. He felt this need as one might feel some important duality in a dream, playing the roles of both victim and rescue worker.
NEPAL
No, that's me!"
NARRATOR
And with that scream Nepal was drawn back into his body, and the surreal diminished. Now, only one Nepal existed. The unseen bugs still crawled over his skin, some of them boring into him, eating at him, and making him cold. Surprisingly, he yawned. He desperately needed to fight back.
Karden moaned with pleasure, and in short rapid breaths.
KARD
Oh, yea. That's nice. Keep it up. Struggle. Feed me. Use your curses against me. (mental voice)
NARRATOR
Nepal thought that he must be tired and only imagined the voice in his head?
KARD
You can hear me alright.
I'll bet you could even feel what I am feeling. If you try. Your strength is so nice. Pure pleasure to my being. You're filling me. Would you like to try some? Of course you would. Where are my manners?
NARRATOR
Nepal had still not seen the mans lips move. His mind raced to find reason, but found none in this place of madness.
NEPAL
Denial is best. (inner voice)
NARRATOR
Until he could find a reason.
The bugs continued to feed on him, but a new tingle began to mingle with the icy bites. The tingling increased and provided a warmth. That turned into a rubbing like a deep tissue massage. There was pain and pleasure that came with each and every bug bite. It grew in intensity until he thought he could take no more.
There was a disturbance in the air, and he could see someone looking at him. The face was familiar to him, but he could not place it. Short dark hair, small nose, and Hawaiian from the look of him. The man was trying to see him, but Nepal could tell he was having trouble.
KARD
What's this?
NARRATOR
Karden asked from the mangled door frame.
KARD
What are you doing?
NARRATOR
The invisible ice bugs had ceased their feeding and pleasing, and Nepal stared out in Karden's direction. Only, he wasn't looking at Karden. He was looking at the space in front a few feet away from Nepal. Within the shimmering air Nepal could see the man come forward, and he emerged from the now thickened air.
Obviously confused about his whereabouts, the new arrival looked around. Then his face flushed pale like he was going to be sick.

SCENE: A feast interrupted
NARRATOR
Kard was enjoying himself immensely. The feast he had before him was exquisite. He drank it in, tasting the new and exotic flavors that poured into him. The beautiful creature struggled to fight him off, but the more it struggled, the greater the taste. He was swimming in ecstasy. He thought that he might burst like a balloon, stuffed beyond what was possible, but the power flowed into him, never filling, and he simply craved more.
A day inside an instant passed as Karden Lowen lost himself for a while. Of their own accord, his tendril's reached out from where he stood seeking more sustenance to fill his insatiable heart. They seemed to have found something extra for their effort. It was like having dinner and dessert at once. Would this ever stop? Karden wished it would not.
Kard opened his eyes to the thoughts of Nepal.
NEPAL
No, that's me!

NARRATOR
Only to find the flavor changed. It became warm and bitter salt like the soup they'd served for Thursday's lunch. Thursday was special for Kard. That's when the orderly would come to give him a rubdown and a bath.
KARD
Like at the spa. (INNER VOICE)
NARRATOR
Nepal now tasted like like that felt. Then he remembered most of the shots, the medications, came to him Thursday mornings; to settle him down before bathing.
This angered Kard and he drew more upon the creature that was his meal. Pleasure rushed into him, as there seemed to be an endless supply of living ambrosia. He could feel it cursing him and he asked for more.
The creature, Nepal, was reading Kard's thoughts but did not know that he could. Kard let the creature know the two of them could indeed communicate, and offered to give the creature a sample of its own life.
With some difficulty, Kard siphoned off a little of what he was taking from Nepal and tried to feed it back. At first it didn't seem to work, but it took little time at all to get feedback from the creature. A wholly new flavor came from this remixing of its life force. Like switching from sugar substitute to the real thing, he mused. Kard felt the rush seize him, and he pushed for more.
Another eternity passed within the span of a few seconds. Watching his victim intently, Kard had to adjust his focus, for he now found it difficulty to see the creature. He rubbed his eyes, thinking tears must be welling up, but this did nothing to clear things. The air rippled in front of Nepal, his image wavering. The strength of Kard's gorging decayed quickly. Flow slowed. He pushed for more, to bring it back, but was getting nothing.
KARD
What's this? What are you doing?
NARRATOR
Nepal stared at him blankly.
KARD
Shell-shocked?
NARRATOR
Kard didn't think so. In the next moment, someone else popped into existence in front of his meal. Surprised, Kard attempted to rationalize someone coming out of thin air. It was a man nearly the same size as his interrupted meal. Same dark hair, but wearing what looked to Kard like pajamas. The hospital had never given him much in the way of clothing. Sleepwear was all he'd known.
KARD
Were PJs the "in" thing these days? Surly not.
NARRATOR
Fascinated, he sent a tendril out to probe the newcomer for taste and consistency. He got nausea, and Kard withdrew his tendrilled mind. He'd had enough of that kind of sickness to last a thousand lifetimes.
The medicines were always making him sick. To keep him under control, they said. To keep him from hurting himself, they said. To keep him from hurting anyone else, they said. To keep him normal, they said. Oh, it's just a side effect, they said. Well, he wasn't going to take what they said. Not anymore. They were going to take what HE said.
The newcomer spoke to Kard's meal, but he only heard "trust me." Then the newcomer grabbed Nepal. The air around them shimmered and they were gone the next second.
Kard witnessed this during his reverie, paralyzed to bring himself out of it to stop them, his meal, from getting away.
He walked over to where the two had stood. He could feel the echo of their presence, what was gone now, but the space remembered them still.
He was alone, again. He felt the weight of it like an anvil in on his shoulders. He walked over to a nearby sink. He washed his hands and face, and dried them with the stack of paper towels laying on the body of one of his victims. He couldn't remember killing her, but he supposed it didn't matter.
He looked into the mirror. The face that stared back at him was that of man he hardly recognized. Although he was slender, always had been, his face looked chubby. The bald head probably contributed to that look, but he thought it was a good one. He like what he saw. He'd keep his head shaved. This made his heart glad. He also wanted a different perspective, to be able to see himself through someone else's eyes. He should have saved one of the orderlies to help him see.
Then he remembered his goal. He had to find a child to raise. A child of his very own. Someone to mold to his liking, to carry on the burden that was his curse. Didn't he have a child? He couldn't remember.
Jump into the storm
The world stopped spinning enough that it felt safe to move. Cheshin was experiencing psychic overload, and he didn't know why. Nepal was facing him, posed as if in pain. This faded quickly, he noted.
Cheshin shook off the dizziness as best he could, and decided to sever the "one mind" until things settled. The "one mind" lingered and would not let go. "No time to fight it," he said.
"What did you say?" Nepal asked.
"Sorry, hi. You are Nepal, right?"
"Yes, and I'm a little worried about my sanity right now."
"It will pass," Cheshin assured him. "I mean your worry will pass. I'll explain later. Really. I should not be here."
"Yeah, I think you're right," Nepal agreed. "You should not be here. Unless this is a nightmare, and I dreamed you up. Then, of course, you should be here, and all I need to do is wake up."
"No, no. You're not dreaming, but we need to get out of here."
"This guy killed all these people."
"I know. That is why we need to get out of here before it's too late." Nausea came again.
"This doesn't seem real to me," Nepal started on that train of thought, again.
"OK, fine. But trust me. We don't have time for this." Cheshin tried to think how he could convince Nepal to make the leap of trust. He did not have to believe in what was going on around him, but Cheshin felt sure he needed to get Nepal's cooperation to at least go along with it. "If this is all a dream, maybe coming with me will get you out of it? It can't hurt to try."
This argument seemed to do the trick. Cheshin grabbed Nepal and teleported away from the hospital. His minds eye was having trouble focusing on their destination. He reached for the "one mind". It was still there, but something was terribly wrong.
Kefen's voice exploded in his head. "STORM!"
Pain thundered through him. He lost control and almost lost consciousness. He struggled to maintain his awareness for this trip, because he had no idea what happened to a person lost it in the middle of a teleportation jump. He was caught in a psychic storm, and the dizziness never left him. It had to have been this storm that pulled him through to Nepal.
Cheshin could see Nepal's mind was swimming with random thoughts. He was passed out and dreaming. Here he was struggling to save the man's life, and all the guy could do is go to sleep. It was almost comical, and later he could laugh about it. But right now, he was in too deep to appreciate the humor.
Kefen recovers
Kefen's head swam like a waterlogged brick, but it was getting easier to think. He remembered getting glimpses of Nepal and Cheshin talking, but then he had been yanked away violently. "I should have recognized it as a storm," he admonished. "There was so much happening. I should have known." Dru's mind got caught up in the storm, thrown about like a rag in a tornado.
Jueqel slammed his fist into the floor, "Damn!"
Remembering Dru, Kefen crawled over to him. Jueqel had Dru's head propped up on a cushion. He didn't remember Jueqel getting a cushion. A lump on Dru's head was swelled up as big as lemon. "It's a storm that I have been feeling
for the last hour?" Jueqel asked. "I've never felt one so strong, and never one that spikes like it did."
Kefen shook his head, "Not fully. I think the spike was the monster's abilities breaking free."
"Karden?"
Kefen did not answer but put his palm on Dru's temple.
"Is he going to be alright?" Asked Jueqel.
Kefen nodded, "I think so, but we need to get Etten here."
"But the storms not over."
"I don't think that matters," Kefen explained. "I think the storm was attracted to our 'one mind'. We've been teleporting and trying to keep in contact with one another." He stopped for a breath. His head was pounding. "It must have been too much psychic activity connected over distance. Maybe we caused a storm of our own. It's hard to tell, but I'm pretty sure we were feeding it. Psychic activity acts like weather fronts, highs and lows, and esper activity can tug a storm in odd directions. Unlike the weather, a psychic storm has boundaries outside of what we think of as three dimensions. The storms also play tricks on you. It's easy to loose track of time."
Jueqel nodded in a way that let Kefen know this was all academic to him.
Kefen apologized. "Sorry, I'm lecturing." He looked at Dru, concerned. "That's supposed to be his job."
"It's fine. Go right ahead. You sound better for it."
Kefen felt better. His thoughts had cleared. "I'm going to contact Etten. I'll let you know what's happening as I do so. If I remain quiet too long, you might need to suppress my abilities. I don't want to get lost in the storm. So, just ask me. If I don't respond, you know what to do."
Jueqel looked reluctant, but he agreed.
"Oh, and don't let anyone in House Thero try to help Dru." Kefen did not want anyone of them in poking around in Dru's head, if he could help it.
"Alright, but only if you make it back in one piece. Otherwise, I'm going for help."
Thankfully, the concern was for naught. Kefen reached out for Etten's mind, and found it right away. "We need you here at House Thero. Dru's hurt."
Seconds later, Etten was standing in the room. Jueqel had never met Etten. They said their, "hi, nice to meet you's," and turned their attention to Dru.
Etten said, "I'm not getting a whole lot. He's shut himself down." He sized up the situation and said, "This is going to take awhile."
Impatient and worried, Kefen motioned with his hand, shooing Etten to begin. "Get started."
Snake in the jungle
The night sky's colors looked wrong. Dru wasn't sure what color they should have been, but he knew those colors were not right. The insects were florescent, and that wasn't right either. The leaves, gnarled and etched with strange patterns one would find in museums and pyramids, slapped his face as he traversed the foliage of a place that had a lingering familiarity.
"I know this place," he thought aloud. He understood at once that it was a mistake to make any noise in this place. Fear of being found played most in his heart.
He was wandering aimlessly down a winding trail, looking for his camp. There should have been signs of the others by now. There was danger ahead, he knew, but what? A knife in his left hand and a sidearm in his other, not knowing where he got them, he cautiously made his way through the jungle, knowing what it could mean if he were caught.
He was dressed in the camouflage of his unit, his special unit. It clung to his skin as the moisture soaked through the material. The air was thick, and it was hard to breath. Sweat poured down his face faster then he cold wipe it away. The insects were on every leaf, and more underneath. They latched on to him as he passed. The way was flat. That meant water was nearby, a river.
Thinking he must get off the trail, Dru passed between twisted trees that attempted to block his course. Their thorns, sharp as hooked needles, grabbed and tugged at his clothes, ripping and stretching the material. He pushed on.
His hands found vines to help him pull his way through the nearly impenetrable wall of brush. A thorn scraped his face sending a shard of pain. "Infection," he thought. "Better be more careful."
Something slithered under foot, and he reacted swiftly to avoid a snake. He leaped out of the way, but his foot caught on a bowed vine that brought him down face first into a jutting root, unable to get his hands up in time to prevent injury.
More pain, but it should have hurt worse. Rest was what he needed, rolling to his side, he laid his head back. His senses were becoming dulled. "Got to stay alert," he told himself and sat up. He looked around, hoping he did not just say that aloud. He was being careless.
It was evening, and it should have been raining. He had thought too soon, a brisk shower began. If he wasn't wet enough already, this would make it worse. The rain was relentless in the jungle.
The clearing, what amounted to an open area with less foliage, laid open for about twenty feet. A mound of dirt piled up against a thick tree trunk. Florescent ants carried leaves cut into the shapes of humans. They reminded Dru of those life sized cardboard displays found at shopping malls.
The avoided snake made it to his leg and wound itself around him. It started to squeeze tight, while its head sought out a fleshy target. He grabbed for the knife, but sticking up from the earth a few feet away, it wasn't within his reach. He started to crawl to the knife, but it was difficult to move closer. The snake pulled on him, preventing him from making any headway, seeming to know that letting him get that knife would be its doom.
He heard energetic breathing, accompanied by the sounds of cutting and chopping. That was the sound of a machete. Someone was coming, trying to get through the jungle wall. Had he left a trail to follow? He thought, "yes, I did."
A familiar voice was calling his name, "Dru!"
Or was it a trick? The snake responded and stopped its attack. The snake looked around. Its tongue flicked out, tasting the air. It started to unwind itself from his leg, but stopped and tasted the air again. It did this several times, and when it was nearly off him, he lurched for his knife.
The snake's reaction was lighting fast, and it sprung at him, snatching one of his arms. "Dru!" the voice screamed. This time from another direction. Was it the same voice? Not sure, the jungle was playing with him. "Echoes," he thought. He was close to grabbing the knife when the snakes teeth bit down into his hand.
He screamed in pain, feeling the poison penetrating into his veins. The poison screamed his name over and over.
The pain on his forehead began to throb to the rhythm of his heartbeat.
"That's it, Dru. Come this way," the voice beckoned.
Dru opened his eyes. Disoriented, his eyes darted back and forth, talking in his surroundings. He was afraid to move his head. Etten, Jueqel, and his beloved Kefen were crowded around him.
Silver cords
It was floating in the air, or what he thought was the air. Nepal latched onto the drifting silver cord. He tugged on it hard. He drifted along with the cord, thinking he was pulling something closer. He was immersed in the emptiness that wasn't space, weightless. Was he pulling something closer or was he pulling himself closer. He decided it didn't matter. It would turn out the same in the end.
Something tugged back on the cord, and he tried to brace himself. Brace on what? Nothing here to brace with.
There must have been miles of cord, for it reached well beyond the darkness. Hand over hand he gripped the silver line and pulled closer to something unknown. Steadily pulling himself for what must have been an hour, he saw in the distance the cord had split off in three directions.
There was that tugging again. This time stronger then before. The split in the cord shook and divided. Two new cords streamed out from the center of their crossing. He felt his grip on the cord start to give a little. He redoubled his effort and pulled himself faster along the length of the cord.
He reached the nexus of silver cords just in time. The cord he was on winked out of existence. At once he realized it meant that someone in his line had died. His line? His line of what?
There were 4 cords meeting at this crossroads of what? Life lines? Nepal was sure he could take any one of these cords and find family members. "These are my family?" He questioned? His family, except for his father, as far as he knew were all gone. His mother died in a car crash when he was fourteen. But it wasn't his fathers line. It was the family on his mother's side. This was their family lines.
He felt the twinge of sorrow of for the loss. His mother was so gentle, full of energy. She was non-stop his "Mom". She was always doing something. In fact, he never knew her to sleep. Ever.
This thought struck him like never before. Maybe she did sleep, but just never around him. He examined nexus, bringing his eyes level with it. He could almost see someone etched into its side.
Another cord drifted nearby. It was a short cord, getting shorter by the moment. I whipped back and forth, a though it was writhing in pain. He leaped for it, and for all his effort, he only managed to fall feather slow toward the ever shrinking cord.
However, as he got closer to the cord, he could tell the shrinking was an illusion. It was also not just one silver band of threads, but a pair of cords twisting in unison.
He grabbed them both steadied them as best he could. The cords resisted and whipped about furiously. He wrapped himself around the two cords and attempted to straighten them with his entire body. "There, that's better." The cords settled and began to stretch off in both directions. One cord slipped from his grip, as the other widened. He held on for as long as he could, but the widening cord broadened well beyond with width of his outstretched arms. Instead of falling off the growing cord, he fell into it.
Talk about
blanks
"I thought you said sanity was required to wield psychic abilities?" Breyn asked, her voice echoing into the room.
She startled Jueqel, causing him to jump where he sat. She had teleported in without him sensing anything.
"I, also, thought you were psychic," she played.
Jueqel flushed, a little embarrassed at being caught off guard. That seemed to be happening far too often this night.
"So, this sanity is...?" She paused for an answer.
"It is required, yes. The insane cannot grasp reality enough to tap that part of their mind. That and depression will also keep someone from using their abilities," Jueqel answered her. "Insanity and psychics don't mix. The brain just doesn't work that way. That's why we need to connect with others, some kind of center in our lives to give us meaning. Have friends. Keep us happy. Keep us sane."
This puzzled her. "Then why did this monster do what it did? How could it?"
"I have been wondering about that myself. I can only assume he must not be insane."
"How can you say that what it did was not insane?"
"Insane by who's standards?" He was not trying to sound aloof, but it came out that way.
"By any decent human beings standards. Look, I know you guys like to study this stuff, but I'm beginning to think you're all just a bunch of obsessed know-it-alls."
"Sorry, I didn't mean it come out that way," Jueqel corrected himself. "I meant by what standards, we at this house, judge sanity."
"Oh, so, what you are saying is that this thing is sane and just plain evil?"
Dru answered her. "Yes, I think that's what Jueqel is saying."
Jueqel nodded, "that said, there may be the possibility that some insanity may not play by the rules. Maybe it was the drugs we'd given him."
"That's a lot of maybes," Breyn said.
The Yogans asked her if the Oragwains would do them a favor and be the transport for a team of Yogans. "The Yogans want to move against the monster right away."
"Let me guess," Jueqel said knowingly.
"You'd guess right. See, I knew you were psychic."
"Ha, ha. Very funny," said Jueqel. "They want the Oragwains to teleport them in? Are they mad? This guy would eat them alive."
"They don't seem to think so," she said.
"What about the blanks? They'll be exposing us all to the blanks," Jueqel said, sounding a little afraid of what that would mean.
According to House Thero, Blanks were people without psychic abilities. Nearly all blanks knew nothing about psychics, except from the "friends network" and that Cleo. While it did help protect the psychic community by setting up scapegoats, it had the additional effect of giving real psychics a bad name. Faith healers, the religious ones at least, were another scapegoat. Religion and psychic activity mix like oil and water, and unfortunately, the more religious a psychic became, the harder it was for them to use their abilities. This was about all Breyn wanted to know about the science of psionics.
"Let the Blanks find out about us. What can they do?"
Jueqel was shaking his head, "we've been over this."
"Yes, and I'm still not convinced."
Dru spoke up again, "Jueqel, Breyn, please. My head still hurts."
"There are far too many blanks with their own agendas," Jueqel explained, ignoring Dru's request. "They fear us. They would put us in confinement or even worse, exterminate us. The precogs have seen it will happen, if we just let it go. The death toll will be far greater than a single hospital. We don't want a war to be waged against psychics."
Breyn spoke to Dru, "for you, Dru. I do not wish to make your head ache." Her head was still stinging a little from her trip to the visit the Yogan. They didn't want her coming to House Thero, but there wasn't anything they could do about it. They weren't interested in helping or having to anything to do with this place.
Jueqel was startled, again. And with a horrid look on his face he asked, "Cheshin and Nepal, where are they?"
Cheshin exhausted
The storm had them caught up in a nauseating psychic roller coaster ride. He didn't know how long they'd been in the storm, but things were getting even hazier. Staying conscious would be a problem very soon.
As if in warning, Nepal let out a spasmodic jerk in his sleep. Cheshin's nausea abated. He no longer felt as though he were being tossed about like a buoy at sea. More than seeing, now, a clarity came to him. He could tell the opening home laid ahead, and he'd never seen it like this. Teleporation was nearly instant and getting stuck had never been a problem. He didn't really care where he ended up this time. He just wanted out. Nepal's fists were clinched, obviously having continued a nightmare. "We'll be out of it now," he assured.
He willed them to the opening, and as they passed into the world, he could see a silver outline on the edges of the threshold.
Cheshin and Nepal appeared within a shimmering current of air. Exhausted, they collapsed to the soft grassy sand. They laid there on the ground for a while.
The air was sultry, sticking his clothes to his skin. Cheshin was still tired, but he wanted to make sure Nepal was going to be alright. He could smell the salt in the air. They were near the sea. But where? It was daylight. How long had they been gone?
He was about to rest his heavy eyelids, but they popped open in mute surprise when Jueqel attempted to contact him. "Something happened," he murmured to himself, echoing the message in transit. "Are you alright?"
He sought out the "one mind", but found it had been taken down. He offered to his mates his thoughts and found them one by one.
It was Dru that called for him to come. So, he took Nepal to House Thero.
Kard leaves the hospital
Kard walked the first floor of the building. He'd known very little about the first floor, either floor, for that matter. His life for the past few years had been a blur, a dream production with a continuing cast of players in his head. He knew some of those people laying on the floor. They might have been good friends in other circumstances.
He turned face down bodies over. To anyone he recognized, he said his greetings. He wished them well, good health, and other common curtsies. He got to the one he knew as Timmy. "Oh, Timmy. To see you like this. I say, thank you. You always did good by me." He was truly sincere. Kard's heart felt ready to burst with sorrow at what happened to Timmy. "You never gave me any medicines. You never made me sick."
He stiffened at the thought of crying. He had done enough crying in this place. There wasn't going to be any more of that. He felt strong now, and tears would only bring him down.
At the back of his mind, a warning was chiming. He cocked his head to listen. Sirens again? No. They have no intention of using their sirens, but they were coming his way. They pulled up and have noticed something amiss.
They were coming in cautious, and silent. Only two officers were dispatched to investigate. They were outside waiting. Waiting for him, and waiting for what? They found the few used up bodies he had left. That's it then. They called for backup.
"That was awfully messy of me. Leaving all these bodies lying about. My mother taught me better than that," he spoke to Timmy's corpse. His mother used nag him until he would pick up his room before he was allowed to go out and play. He really liked his mother. She had been his best friend for a long time, but not any longer. She was gone.
"I have to go Timmy," he said. "I have to make a family of my own. Sorry, you can't be Uncle Timmy, because you're dead. I hope you don't mind." He checked Timmy's pockets and found a wallet. Money lay inside, folded in fours along with a plastic key. Embossed on the key were letters that read a single word belonging to a planet, "Saturn."
Kard chuckled and thought, "Saturn, Timmy? You want to be an astronaut? And they thought I was space cadet." It dawned on him that there was a car maker by that name. How stupid it was for him to forget such a thing.
A set of photos packed into a sleeve fell onto Timmy where he lay. Kard picked them up and examined them. "What a beautiful family you have. I see you have boy and a girl. Is this your house? I'd very much like to see your house. Where do you live Timmy." Kard stuffed the photos into his shirt pocket. He bent pouch and shook out the drivers license. The address was unfamiliar. "I don't know where this is Timmy. A new community perhaps? Never mind, I'll find it. Don't you worry one bit."
The two officers waited outside. Their car doors were open. One of them, the female, she was the driver. She would do. Kard sifted through her mind, looking recent memories of the parking lot. He commanded her to turn her head, and she did as he bade. "Look for a Saturn," he forced the thought into the officer with an urgency equal to her need to save someone's life.
Her name was Donna Rone. She dedicated her life to being the best officer she could. Though, upset with her recently denied promotion, her hopes were high. She was the right woman, no, the right person for the job of Lieutenant.
Kard was impressed with her. He had not expected to get so much information in so little time. "Open mind, open heart," his mother used to say.
She found a Saturn parked in the employee section. She could see it clearly. Thus, he could see it, too. "Well, Timmy. It was nice knowing you, but I have a family to start."
"Donna," Kard sent his thoughts to her. "You see someone hiding around the corner of the building."
"Did you see that?" Donna asked. "I just saw someone poke their head out from behind the building."
The officers took off in pursuit. "Donna, go slower. Don't let your partner get behind you."
She let her partner round the corner, then she followed. "Now Donna, it seems your partner is the perpetrator of this crime. You'd better stop him."
"No," her thoughts resisted him. "Billy's a good guy."
"Can't you see, Donna?
The perpetrator is wearing your partner's clothes. It's a wig and a mask that he is wearing. He is trying to trick you."
She raised her gun, "sir, stop. I'm only going to say this once. Please, drop the gun. Get down on the ground. Sir, do it now."
The sound of a gunshot echoed to where Kard stood. "That's good, Donna. Keep him from getting away. Subdue him." Kard sent out a tendril. When it reached Billy, his wounded hand disappointed Kard. He hoped it would have been closer to the heart. But, then again, the stronger the heart, the longer he would last.
Kard drained life away from the wounded man, but only a little. He saved some for when the others arrived. Billy would die from a gunshot in the hand. Soon, the ambulance would arrive.
She waited by Billy. She could do no more. Her wet face, drenched in tears, could only partially reveal her grief. "You shot him, and now he might die. How can you save lives now?" was Kard's last telepathic message to her.
He moved to the building entrance, feeling a little dizzy. He leaned up against a wall, leaned forward clasped his thighs. Must be the drugs, he thought.
He needed to get somewhere. The best place he could go is to Timmy's. He had children , and they would need a father. Having two increases the odds of passing down all the important facts of life. Now, just how to get there?
Aloud he asked, "how did those guys upstairs just vanish like they did?"
Tendrils reached out from his body, on their way to the sight of the vanishing. They did this on their own, powered by Kard's simple desire to know more. They found a lingering sense of something turbulent, but it was unclear. A lingering of that creature, too. That beautiful creature made him feel so good. He compared it to all the flavors of an ice cream stand and more. It was better than that. He could not deny that it was the best he had ever felt. He wanted more of that. Billy wasn't very tasty.
The tendrils might do things he did not want, get out of hand. He reeled them in. He wanted to keep control of his desires. He must keep control.
Making himself move from the wall took a little effort. His legs and arms ached. His hand ached the worst. He pushed open the door to the outside, and headed to Timmy's Saturn.
The alarm went off after opening the door. Kard ignored the alarm and got in. He stuck the key in the ignition and turned the car over. The car jolted forward in a great lurch, but did not start. The car was a standard stick shift, not an automatic. Kard tried to remember how to drive one, and it came back to him. He had never been good at it, but he had done it before.
He tried again, this time with his foot on the clutch. He didn't have to put the car in reverse. So, he found first gear, and ground it in until it stayed. Releasing the clutch, the car again sent him forward in a jolt. The car turned off. He tried again, but with a little more success at getting the gear in place. However, the car stalled once he attempted to move. His head smashed into the windshield. He gave up.
Papers and food wrappers laid on the passenger seat and floorboard. On closer examination, he found a map that gave direction to a restaurant from an address Kard thought was very familiar. He folded it an put it in his shirt with the rest of the documents he had collected.
"I'm going to need some shoes," he reminded himself.
There was click outside. He turned to look. It was Officer Donna holding a gun. She was a good ten yards away. "Step out of the car, Sir," she demanded.
Kard had little time for this and sent his tendrils to her. He fed from her until she was at the brink of death. He wanted a witness. He wanted that creature to find him again. He wanted that creature.
Kard took the map back out to have another look. The license came with it. "What has happened to my memory. I can't remember anything these days." The address matched Timmy's home address. He pushed the junk off the passenger's seat onto the floorboard, and laid his items in its place.
With the junk removed, it revealed the emergency had been pulled. He released it, and finally got the car to act like a decent car.
Nepal awakens
Etten, Breyn, Jueqel, Kefen, and Dru sat in one of the many libraries at House Thero. The muted television showed a parking lot with first responders policing the area. Shot live, the image shook and attempted to refocus on several occasions. It zoomed out, letting the viewers know the camera mounted on the helicopter was a long way off, and panned back to the news anchor.
"They found two officers down on the scene," said Etten. "One wounded and the other severely disturbed. They don't know if she'll recover."
"We should have moved faster," agreed Breyn.
"I don't see how," Jueqel answered. "Even our precogs had a tough time getting through to this guy."
Dru turned his head back and forth listening to the volley of words.
"The Yogan have asked us to take them to the scene. I think we should," Breyn suggested.
"I don't trust them. They have plans for Karden," Jueqel objected.
"You don't know that, but I can see how you would not trust them," Kefen said with a knowing smile.
Dru raised a hand up to ask for quiet. "I think this monster, Karden, is a bigger threat than all the Yogan combined. I also think he would be a threat to the Yogan, combined or not. That man thing is a threat to all of us. A psychic with that kind of power cannot be allowed to kill anyone else."
Jueqel noticed Dru changed Karden from a monster to something more human. They all noticed. "I agree, but what are you saying? We destroy him? I'm..."
He was cut off from a voice at the door. "We have to do something about him." Nepal's voice was weak. "He'll kill everyone in the world, if we don't."
Cheshin, who was standing next to Nepal, walked in the room, "I don't think that we would let it loose upon the world. No one here is saying that."
Jueqel added, "we have to be careful how we go after him. The world cannot know about us."
"What? We just cover our tracks as usual?" Breyn asked.
"Yes," Jueqel said mater-of-factly.
Kefen asked, "if the precogs aren't getting much, how can anything be covered up?"
Jueqel quickly answered, "damage control."
"Impossible," said Breyn.
"It doesn't matter," Dru said. "If people find out, we'll deal with it as it comes. We have to stop him. Jueqel, we will help you with your damage control, but I think we have to bring in the Yogan."
"They can't do anything. They're just muscles and bullies. If they can catch him, they're going to want to keep Kard for themselves." There. He'd said it. Everyone knew it would eventually come out. Jueqel's mistrust for the Yogan went well beyond dislike and closer to paranoia. He knew it, but he had good reasons. One good reason at least.
The Yogan had tried to recruit Jueqel when he was young. They terrified him then. He desired to see their House gone, and he wanted nothing to do with them now. It had no business scaring people into their ranks.
"They CAN get the job done," Dru spoke his words carefully to make sure Jueqel heard him the first time. "With YOU, Jueqel."
The room grew quiet. Dru let the words sink in. Jueqel would realize the necessity of his working with the Yogans of the Green House.
Nepal had been ignored after his brief statement, but he didn't feel left out. The things they were talking about, he knew, involved everyone on earth. He was important for some other reason he could not yet understand. "I want to help," broke the silence.
They all looked at him, questioning. He could see it on their faces. How could he help? What could he do?
"He was killing you, Nepal," Jueqel answered.
Nepal was taken aback by the use of his name. "How do you know me? How is it that I've come here?" Then he realized how stupid he must sound to them. Of course they would know his name. They were psychics. They were probably reading his mind right now. He eyed them suspiciously.
Etten who was the closes to Nepal at this point, stood up from his chair and stepped closer to him. He put his hand out in a comforting gesture and sent the thought, "only some of us can actually read minds. But the others have their own abilities."
Nepal shied away. He had been on the verge of falling back into believing the bits about psychics were just a gimmicks, tricks his mind played. Etten's display of power too much for him right then. He put his hands up in defense of the projected words aimed at him. "As if this could stop telepathy," he told himself. The absurd gesture.
The room took a breath. Jueqel, who was already standing, replaced his dismayed shock with the look of fascinated horror. Dru and Kefen stood up fast enough to knock their chairs over simultaneously. Cheshin took a step back, and Breyn attempted teleport, but was unsuccessful. Etten fixed his gaze, unmoving, upon Nepal.
The immediate space around Nepal silvered and pulsed with waves of disturbed air. It outlined him in a transparent wrapping of psychic threads no more than an inch thick. Nepal did not see the silver, but the atmosphere in the room could not have gone unnoticed. He saw the looks everyone was giving him and mistook them for outrage. The silver faded at once. "Sorry," he apologized. "I didn't mean to offend anyone." His muscles ached and skin leathered. A sudden tiredness showered over his already tired body.
It was a long moment before anyone spoke. "How'd he stop me from teleporting?" Breyn asked.
Jueqel smiled, "I knew it."
"You are an esper," Kefen declared.
Breyn was not happy, and her tone abandoned nothing as she bore what was on her mind. "What are you so damned happy about? He stopped me from teleporting. Not even Jueqel can stop me without straining himself. Who is this?"
Nepal struggled to make sense of it, and grabbed the door frame to keep himself from dropping to the floor, and to help him keep his thoughts up. The effort
helped. "I just did something. Didn't I?"
Their nodding was palpable. "Yes," said Etten and Jueqel in unison.
"How?"
"You need to rest," Dru stated. "If you want to help stop this monster, you can help us by getting some sleep."
"I...", he tried to think of the words, but they would not come.
"I'll tell you everything, but later," Jueqel said.
"Later," Dru agreed.
"Let's get you back to bed. Cheshin, you too."
Jueqel meets Yogan
Jueqel was a bookworm back in high school. His teachers liked him well enough, but there was always something that kept any of them from warming up to him. He submitted three poems into the school literary album for the 1986 school year. Of note, everyone of his poems were published. One in particular stood out from the rest.
A failed result from an assignment on patriotism expressed in poetry. Failed because it gained him a "C-" grade, which was unacceptable to Jueqel. After the publishing of the annual, the instructor took notice of his work and asked why he had not submitted the poem for a grade. She thought it was very well done.
"I did," he said for everyone in the class to hear. He let her know the grade she gave him. He projected all his frustration toward her, but all he got in return was teacher's "oh."
All through high school it was the same. The harder he tried to make his presence known, the easier was for him to get ignored. He later learned it was his ability to turn things off in the mind. He learned this from a man and a woman that showed up to his graduation.
After his graduation ceremony, Jueqel went to backstage to get his diploma to place in the plastic tube he had received on stage. The tubes handed to students were a props for show. It guaranteed students would not pull stunts during the ceremony, if they wanted to get their diploma.
His mother and father stood behind the rope barrier, solemn and reserved. Something about their manner let him know there was bad news, and he didn't want to know. They were standoffish and cold. He got depressed just approaching them. Father sounded horse, "come on." They turned and walked away just like that. He noticed they were glowing with an inner light Jueqel could see, or sense.
Jueqel didn't even get to the car before his parents turned on him. They were not his parents. These strangers looked a lot like them, but their walk was wrong. Too tall for mother, and too broad for father.
"Get to the car," father said.
"Yes, be a dear, and get in the car," mother said. This got a sharp look from father as his head snapped in her direction. That was not something his mother would have said, but she didn't know that.
Jueqel said, "improvising is not one of your best suites." Fear gripped his legs and pushed him to move. He ran back to the building, and started through the double doors. A large man that had his father's features placed a hand in the seam of the doors. The doors would not budge. The face of his father melted into someone else as looked for a clue.
The other one grabbed his face, and after a moment he was seeing double. He could see himself and the woman that used to be his mother a few moments ago. From the experience, Jueqel remembered there was a conversation that happened so quickly he was hardly aware of it happening at all.
The Yogan needed his help. They were here to fix the world. They have plans, and someone like him would be very useful.
Dream well, Nepal
"They had every intention of taking me with them," Jueqel said.
Nepal deserted consciousness during the tale, but it did Jueqel good to tell it once more. He could finish it another time, if Nepal asks it of him. He had spent as much time in the room as he dare. The forces of Yogan were gathering, and once again, Jueqel had to do his duty to protect the blanks of the world.
He stayed with Nepal a few minutes longer. Being in his presence gave Jueqel a resolve he hadn't felt in a long time. A boost of confidence that let him know he could work with the Yogan. They still frightened him, yes, but it was the old fear. The fear of a teenager chased down by inhuman creatures from another world.
The level of psychic activity had increased the moment Nepal and Cheshin arrived at House Thero. Nepal was emanating power even as he slept. It seemed appropriate to have someone who resonated so brightly in the house of the Resonance Organization. Perhaps Nepal need never really leave. He had no place go, now that his world had been turned upside down. He'd be welcome here. "I'll have to keep him from the Yogans as well."
"They won't be taking me with them this time," he told Nepal. "Dream well. You have much to discover." And he walked out to join the others.
Nepal's lineage
A young woman with chestnut curls patiently stood waiting for Jueqel to return to the conference room. "Hi, Sherry," he greeter her. He always enjoyed her company. She looked especially cheerful this early in the morning.
She handed him a short stack of papers. "This came in by fax," she said in a tone that conveyed disbelief that anyone could sink so low as to use faxes these days.
"A fax?" Jueqel shared the sentiment. He took it and scanned through quickly. He summarized for the others. "Psi-cops are involved. Or, at least, they're going to be. They've dispatched two operatives. They're asking if we know anything."
Sherry said, obviously excited, "there's more. We've been able to get premonitions, again, about Karden."
Interested Jueqel let her speak, motioning her to go on.
"It's not much yet, but he is or was driving a car. It broke down or will break down at the side of a road. We don't have a clear location yet, but bits and pieces are coming through. We did get a clear picture of one federal agent and a military psi officer hunting him. We're not sure how they could be working together, but we've heard stranger things. It seems every agency and street gang is getting involved. Blanks and espers." Then she started and finished with a nearly imperceptible smile, "this is not looking good."
Jueqel looked at her with exaggerated bafflement, "then why are you so gleeful?"
"Sorry, but we haven't had this much fun in ages."
Dru snapped, "FUN!"
Jueqel gestured for Dru to calm down. "Dru, please." Mr. Perfect was upset, he thought. How odd. Dru was burning as if insulted at her words. This was a side he'd never seen before. He knew Sherry was a prone to find amusement in academic oddities. Her humor obscure, at best. He felt a kinship with this part of her. Dru was out of line.
Sherry's fingers went to her temples as if to stave off a headache, but then decided to bite her fingertips instead. She bit down hard on her pinkies and held them that way for ten long seconds. Bringing her pinkies together, she hooked them so that when she pulled them apart with all her might. She had to stifle a scream.
Dru coughed and laid his head in his hands.
Sherry whipped her head around to Dru, defiant, "stay out of my head." She wasn't a telepath, but she could defend herself from them. "There are boundaries you will not cross with me." To Jueqel, her harsh tone so different a few seconds ago, "as I said, we're all getting premonitions. We're going on overload. If you'd care to check, I think your friend is causing it. He's facilitating a heightened response in all of us in the libraries." Softer, she added. "After coming up against an insurmountable wall a couple hours ago, we hit the libraries. In the last half hour, the cybies did a database search and came up with Nepal's bloodline. Traced to a Psychinian candidate by the name of Li Liu, discovered in 1632."
Sherry liked the cybies. Some precogs had a penchant for computers, and a few of those had developed the capacity to sense what the computer would tell them. More often it was the precognitive youngsters that were attracted to the machines. Their aptitude eventually evolved into a computer reading ability, similar to how telepaths read minds. They went even further by relating to the electronics on a more personal level, sending commands and interpreting signal feedback. This naturally lead to their nearly complete immersion into what amounted to the electronic world commonly known as cyberspace. One or more of them could be found on the Internet at any one time, putting a new spin on the phrase "surfing the net." It was best to let them roam. They were happiest when they surfed. They often have had to be reminded it was time to eat or shower, but not too often. Sherry's pet name for them had been "cybies", short for cyber babies. It stuck.
"What ruled him out?" Jueqel asked.
"SHE wasn't ruled out. They, I mean We, lost track of her around 1644, when the Manchurians invaded China and set up the Qing dynasty. We were able to pick up the trail and follow maternal lines and surname changes. It used to be that the mother's name was passed to their children, not the fathers. This male surname business didn't start with the Chinese until recently," she eyed the men with playful contempt. "We only found her because Nepal's earliest ancestor on record appears in our database in 1684, but she had her name changed. We can't tell if it's the same woman, could have been a grand daughter. His British ancestry was even harder to trace. No psychics down that branch."
"Ancestry? What good is all that?" Etten asked, impatient, letting everyone know he was bored with the lesson. "Are we going after Kard, now?"
Dru glared at Jueqel, expectant.
"Yes, I'm ready," Jueqel said.
"What should I tell them?" Sherry asked.
"Who?"
"The Psi-cops."
"Tell them," Jueqel started to say.
Dru interrupted, "tell them to keep away from this guy. He's out to kill. No one on the force is strong enough to bring him in."
Sherry shook her head, "they're not going to hear that."
"Tell them to be careful," Jueqel began again. "We are sending in the big guns."
Thrilled at the words,
Sherry jumped and said, "yea, they'll eat those words up." Unexpectedly, she sprinted to the elevator letting out an excited "recess!"
Jueqel said, "lets go."
Ditch
The sound was maddeningly loud, blaring in his ears. The horn stopped when Kard raised his head. He found himself staring at an empty field from behind cracked glass. The windshield looked like a bowling ball tried to smash it way out of the car. There was even pieces of the red ball embedded in the cracks. Only the pieces looked too runny to be from a ball. A liquid ran down and stung his eyes. His forehead was bleeding.
He'd been driving down a stretch of road and looking at his map, when he'd looked up for what must have been the hundredth time, headlights barreled toward him. Time enough to swerve, he managed to miss the oncoming vehicle, and flew into a ditch. His seatbelt was not on, he noticed.
"Mister? Are you alright, mister?" It was a voice coming from somewhere. Not to the left, and not to the right. Where?
"I say, Mister. Are you hurt? Should I call an ambulance?"
The rear view mirror revealed a sullen man in overalls. He stood in front of a beat up brown truck with its headlights on. Kard sensed fear coming from the man. Only it wasn't fear of him it was fear for him. Kard sent out his tendrils. "Come here, Mr. Overalls." He commanded. He was met with some resistance, and the name of Prisoc came to him. "Mr. Prisoc, come here."
Kard's tendrils broke through the few mental defenses the man had, and was soon feasting on Mr. Prisoc's life. It didn't take long, but the effort energized Kard. He gathered the map and collectibles from the front seat and floorboard. He got out of the car and looked about. He felt a presence, a prickling in the air.
He sent tendrils out in all directions to investigate. Someone's watching, he knew. His attempt to capture the watching mind's eye got nowhere, but when he did find the them, and he was sure he would, he would use them like that beautiful creature he'd had earlier.
"I may be going about this all wrong," he thought to himself. "I could call for him." He pondered this. He would call for the beautiful creature, if only he knew how. The children may be able to help. As if on cue, one of the photos he carried fell into the grass. Down on the ground, it stared up at him, asking to be picked up. He refused it, preferring it would learn a lesson. "You shouldn't fall where you are not likely to be picked up," he scolded the photo. In a childish gesture, Kard marched to the truck. The keys were in it and the engine was still running. He placed his items on the seat and went back to the fallen photo. "Now, let that be a lesson to you. You can't be trusted by yourself. So, I'm going to have to take you with me." And then it was settled.
He got in the truck headed for Timmy's house.
When do we start
Spires jutted up throughout the city. Thousands of people walked the streets. Their lives busy with far too many things to do and not enough time to get the job done. They were all strangers to Nepal, but he knew them. Didn't he?
The orange sky indicated it was planting season, but the farmers did their work indoors, now. A single season went on for far too long to keep up with the population's growth. Amid the crowded streets, a woman sat on a ringed bench. She'd been admiring her gloves, scaled a pale green. Nepal moved in close to find the woman sitting down and sobbing. Tears ran from her face dripping to her hands. She lowered them to her lap. She rested on a bench. Familiar, somehow, he knew her. Closer, now. Her skin was not what he'd expected, and he recoiled.
Her eyes turned up to look at him. Dark eyes with large pupils, too far apart from each other. She was frightening, but he knew her and her pale scaled skin.
She'd created this place. She breathed sentience into the world she had found.
Nepal rolled out of bed, landing hard on the floor. He crawled over to the nearby table and propped himself. He inhaled deeply and climbed up into the chair. A small pitcher of ice water placed there for him, he poured and drank the entire cup. He poured another.
Cheshin was standing at the door. "You were some puzzle," he said.
Nepal stopped drinking to respond, but thought he would finish the cup. He needed time to think. He swallowed more water.
"I'm not reading your mind, if that's what you are thinking, " Cheshin said when he got no response.
No, that was not what Nepal was thinking, but it was nice to know his thoughts were private. At least for now. He was thinking how much of a puzzle this whole experience had been. He was caught up in a world he never suspected existed.
Cheshin continued, "I figure you could see it, if I were to do anything like that."
"See what?" Nepal asked.
"He speaks!" Cheshin exclaimed.
"Sorry," Nepal apologized. "This is very new to me. Weird beyond weird, you know."
"Sort of, but not really," Cheshin admitted. "I was born this way. Psychic, I mean."
"Then how could you know?"
"I'm psychic. I know things through other peoples experiences."
"Ah, I can see the advantages in that."
"Yes, and no." Cheshin tapped his temple with his index finger. "What's up here is mine, and it's not."
Nepal gave him a baffled squint, "wha..."
"Many of my memories are not my own. I can tell which ones, but it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between them when I'm in a hurry. When we become the 'one mind', we loose part of ourselves to the group. We instantly remember something that someone else is experiencing."
"I see."
"You will, I think. You will see a great many things. You haven't even begun to tap your abilities."
"Why do you say that?" asked Nepal.
"You don't know it yet. So, you must be told. Your kind always has to be told. It's your curse."
"And what's that supposed to mean? I'm cursed?"
"I'm being figurative. You're not really cursed. Most of you live without every finding out. I only know a little, and that's from what Jueqel has mentioned."
"What's Jueqel got to say about me?"
Cheshin considered this, "I'm not sure I should say fully. I'm not even sure if there are any limits to what you can know. Jueqel says you are a Psychinian candidate."
"Psychinian?"
"Yes. It's a name they came up with, but I think it changes over the years. It means you're ancestral line comes from the first Psychinian. Who that is I don't know, but the House Thero, or the House of the Resonance Organization, has been tracking down and documenting Psychinians through the ages. They loose track of them from time to time, but it's very important to them that they keep records of the Psychinian family tree."
"What's so special about Psychinians? Is that a family name or a code name for a disease?"
Cheshin snickered, "no, nothing like that. Well, maybe a little like that. Someone could put it that way. The family line runs its blood true and is considered the dominant gene passed to the next generation, no matter who the offspring looks like. There are only full blooded Psychinians. Only you can't test for the genes, because there is no Psychinian gene."
"That makes no sense."
"I not making this up," Cheshin defended. "It all sounded more reasonable when I heard it from Jueqel."
Nepal then asked, "So, what does a person do when the are one?"
"You're psychic. I mean really psychic. You just have learn to control your abilities."
"How?"
"I can show you a couple of things you can try," Cheshin offered.
Unsure of how to proceed, Nepal looked around for a pad and pen to take notes. When he couldn't find one, he asked, "where should I start?"
"For starters, you should be able to join your mind with mine. You're not an Oragwain, and I can't ask you to share in the 'one mind', but you should be able to share your thoughts with me. If that works, I we can communicate faster and I can teach you more in a very short period of time. Only,." He paused to consider.
"Only, what?"
"Quick lessons tend to be very taxing. This House calls them Arenas or REM courses. It amounts to the same thing. Once we get started, we go until we get so tired we can't stand up. It is exhausting."
Curiosity welled up and nearly missed the point of the last few words that were said. "I'd be alright," Nepal blurted out.
Cheshin smiled, "I was talking about me, but yes, you will be tired after that kind of lesson, too."
"Oh, ah, sorry," Nepal said embarrassed. "I wasn't thinking. Of course, I wouldn't want you to get hurt or anything like that."
"I'm only a telepath in that I've learned through the 'one mind' how to communicate thoughts and concepts, but I'm a much better empath. I don't have try very hard to read emotions. They just come at me most of the time."
"You mean you know what people are feeling?"
"Almost all the time."
"That sounds handy."
"Yes, and I can be." Cheshin put up a hand, palm out to Nepal. "But there is something else you should know."
Nepal watched as silver threads streamed out from behind where Cheshin stood. They wheeled around and formed a web of pulsating strands.
"You already have the ability to enhance psychic talents." Cheshin shuttered. "Your mere presence here has doubled everyones capacity to perform. It waxes and wanes, but for the most part, it happens while you sleep. I can feel it now, and I'm refocusing the extra strength you've given me into gathering empathic sensations." Another shutter went through him. "You should be able to see the results."
Nepal stared in amazement. How can this be? Is it true? Nepal said, "yes. I do see it."
"This is you're gift to me. Temporary, I'm sure, but its there."
Nepal was exhilarated at the thought of actually being psychic. There would be so much he could do. He thought of the comic books he had read as a child, and how heroic the story. But those were just comic book characters. Doubt tackled him. The web of Cheshin's empathic radar dish wavered and thinned to a pale
wisp.
Cheshin said, "how can you doubt what you are seeing?"
"I don't," Nepal lied.
Cheshin put his palm down and grabbed the doubtful man's hands. "You can do this, Nepal. You have already seen it. There are more things in this world that are witnessed by the blanks. You don't have to be a blank any more."
"Blank?"
"A non-psychic. Blank, because they see a blank screen when they look into the psychic realm. They ignore the blank screen, like people ignore a TV screen that's turned off."
When Nepal tried, he could see thin threads coming into the room from all directions, silver lines no thinker than a human hair. Many of them flowed through and around Cheshin, but there were a series of then surrounding a plant growing in the corner. "Alright, Cheshin. I'm convinced. When do we start the lessons?"
First ambush
"I'm Raymond," the burly man said pleasant enough. "Nice to meet you." He stood a little over six foot. A tight black t-shirt covered his broad shoulders and barreled chest. He wore a medium length beard kept neat, and his saddle brown hair was cropped short. It looked as though he trimmed his arms as well. Through the fur olive skin lay below. In all respects, he was a bear.
Jueqel had not given his name. "Sorry, if I'm not being very sociable, but I haven't had much sleep, and I'm a bit cranky." He had felt their presence ever since he had arrived. Their psychic activity was constant. All that muscle requires constant feeding, he thought contemptuously.
"Good enough," Raymond did not seem put off by this.
Jueqel raised his eyebrows. Raymond must have been told to expect hostility.
"This here is Nita."
The woman next to him nodded. She stood as tall as Raymond, tone and not nearly as broad, but built to tackle. Skin not much lighter than Raymond's hair. She also wore a tight t-shirt, revealing much muscle underneath. Hair draped on either shoulder, so white it looked like mist.
Compared to Jueqel's slender frame, they outweighed him nearly four times over. Jueqel had to remember they needed him. "How is it that I am to help?"
Raymond said, "simple. Once we get near him, we combine our strength, and move in. You will hang back to stay out of harms way."
Jueqel's old fear peaked its jagged tip into him. He quelled it quickly enough, but the damage had been done. He thought of Breyn's offer to stay. When he refused her, she accepted it without hesitation. He got the impression she didn't like it here anymore than he did. "Are we ready then?"
"I thought you might be," said Raymond. Raymond pressed his eye shut, and the air next to them shimmered.
Breyn appeared, "ready?"
Jueqel snapped, "yes. Lets go."
The world around Jueqel deserted him and came back again newly formed. Jueqel thought teleportation had to have been the oddest form of psychic ability ever discovered. Until Dr. Oragwain brought his experiments into the history of psychics, few porters ever existed.
The rest stop they found themselves in had no vehicles parked. The lonely stretch of highway was a hundred yards away. The sun had not yet risen, but signs of daylight promised to come soon. Jueqel sensed no other psychics nearby.
"That monster will be here soon," Breyn said with a hint of skepticism. "Dru is watching us."
Soon enough, power shivered through Jueqel like wind blown through a tree. "He's coming."
Raymond and Nita joined hands and stretched theirs out to Jueqel, "join."
"Wait a minute," Jueqel got the idea he was about to go through that again. "I'm to stay back, and you guys are to take him on."
"Yes, that's what we're doing."
Breyn said, "you'd better do it quick. Here he comes." She vanished at that.
Jueqel felt ready to suppress abilities, but he wasn't ready to do it while melded with any member of Yogan.
Nita spoke, "Jueqel, we need your help in this."
Jueqel felt something was wrong. Was it a trap? "What if something goes wrong?"
"What? Like you not helping?"
Jueqel bristled, "alright, but only because you have me in a hard place." No time to argue, he grabbed their hands.
They pulled him in.
A Psi-cop encounter
Norman wasn't picking up anything. He was having to use good old fashioned detective work. It was kind of nice to have to resort to everyday clues. Well, not completely. He did not like having to push his fellow officers in a different direction, but it was for their own good. As a Psi-cop, he had to keep them out of the way.
Officer Donna mentioned a black Saturn in her statement. Norman checked the employee records from the hospital staff against registered vehicles.
Timothy Brady's address came up with a description of the car and license plate. He had a BarLok security system installed, but never activated it. BarLok's were always on, but unless you activated their services, they didn't monitor the vehicle.
He had used this method of finding stolen cars before. He dialed the number to BarLok Systems. It rang once and someone picked up, "BarLok Systems, this is Jerry. How may I assist you?"
Norman switched to his focused self, his psychic self. That part of him that could reach beyond. Calmly he spoke into the phone, "Jerry, turn on 14382 and tell me where the vehicle is located." With the words Norman's mind delivered a powerful suggestion.
A long pause on the phone, and Jerry came back on, his voice barely a mumble. "A mile and a half off 81 in Heslet."
Norman's nose filled with cold air and a twinge of a sneeze was coming upon him. "Jerry, turn off 14382." He released the BarLok agent and hung up the phone. Whenever he controlled people over the phone, he would get connected to them in ways that got uncomfortable. This time the guy on the other end had had to sneeze. It took all of Norman's concentration to keep that from happening.
Not wanting to attract attention to himself, he sent a broadcast, a simple a mental command to not pay any attention to Norman. Norman went to help someone was all.
He started his car and headed to 81. He'd just turned onto it when a truck swerved back into its lane in order to keep from hitting the median, nearly hitting the sign post.
Norman instinctively attempted to link with the driver, but this time the driver wasn't a drunk finding their way home.
The car broke hard, screeching to a halt. A mans voice spoke to him. The voice was so clear, he could have sworn the man was sitting right next to him.
"Well, hello there."
He felt a cold chill run up his spine and over his skin. It started slow, and there was an insect quality to it. His paralyzed limbs did not respond. "An esper?" He knew it was the guy he from the hospital.
"Yes," Kard said. "And what can you tell me?"
Norman felt the chill dig deeper into his spine. His mind flashed with memories from long ago. Pain rippled through his frozen body. A memory he thought he had forgotten had surfaced and in a flash was gone with a new pain. The pain came to life with each instant a new memory would take its place, followed by a new memory.
Norman's last few thoughts were of his time spent at the hospital, talking to his superiors, and the tricks he had used to find the criminal. After that, the world got cold, and Norman couldn't think anymore.
Rest Stop ahead
The truck rode rough. Kard bounced more often than he would have liked. The constant rattling of the dashboard distracted him. He decided it was too difficult to read the map. He'd go by recollection. It would be easy to recall the lines and the places he needed to turn.
Unable to read the signs, he followed the road until he reached a highway. He didn't quite catch the number. Maybe 141 or 114. That seemed right, so he continued. The road went on forever and none of the exits looked right. Finding himself lost, he decided it was time to turn around.
The trip back took less time then he remembered. He needed to find his way. It was time to take out the map. He tried to flip on the interior light. No response. The hollowed out area where a bulb should have been had broken glass and plastic. "Busted out," he explained.
He drove for a bit longer, he couldn't tell how long, when he figured the road was going nowhere. Unfamiliar stretches of road trampled on his memory. Some spots looked like he'd just passed it a mile back.
One lonely stretch of road did look familiar. He thought something was coming back to him; some scene in his life that would give him a landmark to set him on the right road. He spotted the Saturn where he'd left it. The body of Mr. Prisoc was still laying in the ditch. "Going in circles?" He didn't see how that was possible, but crazier things had happened.
Kard wheeled over Mr. Prico's leg, and stopped the truck. Wanting to look at the map, again. He put the truck in park. "I'll use the headlights," and snatched the map. It caught in a worn piece of the seat and tore the paper. It didn't rip completely in two, at first. It wasn't until he had enough of the frustration of life's little ways. The little ways that brought him down. Maps should not tear. They should be there for him, as he needed the maps. The lights should work, as well on the inside as they do on the outside. Life it not fair. That's why those people had died. Life's little problems getting in the way. His frustration fueled his anger, making him fail at keeping his temper, making him frustrated.
He yanked the map open, and that finished the job of tearing it into to uneven pieces. He brought the pieces into headlights in front of his truck. He noted the highways again, and he was on the wrong road. He had to go back a couple miles and make two turns. "That's all it'll take," he reflected.
Back in his truck and on his way to find Timmy's, the never ending bounce of Mr. Prisoc's pickup, made him think of times he'd be at the playground. Most of the other children ignored him. It was Lisa that had seen he was cold. She let him borrow her jacket. She was nice.
Not paying
attention to the road, a sign post came rushing toward him. He turned a hard right to avoid the dusty median. He didn't notice the police car sitting at the stop sign nearby, but the police had seen him. That police officer tried to contact him. Thinking this officer may be able to help a driver in need, he slammed on his breaks a little too hard.
There was a voice that was trying to tell him something. It was not all that clear, but it had an authority about it Kard found very attractive. "Hello, there." Kard spoke aloud, and sent his tendrils out to investigate. He learned of he was the object of a man hunt. The officer was an esper, and now the officer knew about Kard. The officer knew more, and had that meant he had to know. "Yes, and what can you tell me?"
Kard sent tendrils into the officer and searched the mind that was helpless. He rummaged and found a great many things about the past year, and other unimportant things about the officers friends and family. It was the last few hours Kard wanted to know about, and he finally dug up his prize.
He drained the memories from this, officer, epser, and Psi-cop. As an after thought, Kard realized the esper's life was very tasty, and finished him off.
He laid his head back for a second, but before it could hit the headrest, a horn blared behind him. The officer had landed on his horn.
"Well, I can't sleep here. Besides I'm good for a hours, I think," he said to himself.
He stepped on the gas, hung a left, and entered the on ramp to the next highway he came across. It stretched for several miles, and curved a few times until it came to a major interchange, and soon he was on a major highway. He had forgotten about his destination, for now, and drove with his lids getting heavy.
The world seem to spin for a second and he popped open his eyes. "Can't sleep now. I'm driving," he said to the truck, hands waving as if the truck needed to hear what was going on in his head.
A sign said "Rest Stop, Next Right." So, he took the exit.
First lesson
The dim lighting revealed no details of his environment. Plain gray floor ran further than his eyes could see. The horizon line was missing, and the sky was indistinguishable from the ground below. Nepal found no source of light. The scene was unbroken save for a man dressed in loose fitted robes one might find worn by a martial arts instructor.
"It took you long enough," the instructor said.
"Cheshin?" Nepal asked.
"Good. You can tell who I am," Cheshin praised.
"Why are you so hard to see?"
"I should say something really smart like, 'because you are not seeing me,' but that cryptic mystery stuff can be skipped in these lessons."
Then Nepal remembered, "lessons." The lessons just began. Cheshin asked him to close his eyes and open his mind to think of nothing at all. Concentrate on nothing and relax. Then the disorientation, and he was here. "This feels like a dream," he informed.
"You can clear this up by trying to find me. Do you remember what I look like?"
"Yes."
"Focus on that. Picture what I look like and superimpose my image on where I am standing."
Nepal thought about it a moment, and when he had it a relatively clear in his mind, he refocused his eyes to see Cheshin. The martial artist blurred and grayed out to almost invisible. Liquid washed off the paint covering Cheshin, and underneath the layers, a light shown on him, forcing out the details. "I can see you now. Much better."
"Excellent," Cheshin said. "Now, I'm going to hide from you completely. Find me." And Cheshin bolted to the right with blinding speed. He circled Nepal several times until all that could be seen was white wispy lines, and then there was nothing. Cheshin had disappeared. "Find me," came the voice.
"How?"
"Like you did just a moment ago, but this time try to place my image where I might be located. This will give your mind something to focus on. The nice thing about the mind scape is that the world turns around you, not the other way around."
Nepal again set the picture of Cheshin in front of him. When it didn't settle and clear, he knew his prey was not there. "Prey," he thought. The hunter was seeking his prey. This time the image played out in the air and Nepal moved it casually, looking for a good spot to hang it. "It's almost like putting a picture up in a room, but instead of decor, it was following a trail."
"Exactly."
Nepal pulled the image in closer and over to the left, but the image wanted to move to the right. He felt it tug like a magnet. "There!"
Cheshin's faded into view. "Yes, this is going very well," he said, obviously pleased.
"Is it always so gray in here?"
"I'm glad you asked. It's not really gray. You have to fill in the color, if you need it. It's only gray because you're passively re-seeing the psychic background noise in your head. Sometimes, it helps to add a fresh background to accomplish things. Peoples minds play out different scenarios when they dream. Like you said, this feels like a dream. In dreams people become accustomed to familiar settings. They adapt to new environments without thinking about it, but sometime they trip up. They impose their own version of things on their mental landscape. You can do that, too. Only you can do it on a conscious level."
"Right," Nepal affirmed. "How?"
"Like you did with finding me. Put a picture up. Even better, put a chair right here for me to sit on."
Nepal looked to where Chesin was pointing. He brought up an image of a lawn chair, striped green and white. He tried to hang it, but it didn't stick.
"Don't try to hang it. Chairs sit on the ground."
He tried again, this time setting the chair a foot away from where Cheshin stood. It came to life, appearing out of thin air. "WOW!" Nepal was thrilled. "That is fantastic."
"Alright, alright, don't get too excited, yet. There's more."
"More?" Nepal.
"Do you see that the chair remains, even after you stop concentrating on it? That's because you already believe it to be there. The rest is all subconscious. Let's try something harder. Place us in a picture of a park," Cheshin instructed. "Someplace you have been before."
Too excited, Nepal couldn't think of any park he had ever been to. He knew there were many parks he had visited, only none of them came to mind.
"Have one yet?"
"No, give me a second." An image of a park off Elam Road, the one with the creek that separated it in two, floated up. There was a nice set of trees where people could go eat and enjoy a cool spring day. Nepal had visited that park last year.
"Now?" Cheshin asked.
"Yes."
"Imagine being there. Paste the park all around you. Position yourself in the park with the grass and landscape just where you want it to be."
Paste? Nepal would rather paint the setting he wanted. It was easier that way. A few seconds later, the gray melted into greens, browns, and blues. As Nepal transitioned into a new setting, it felt perfectly natural to modify his world. A branch here, water over here, and dirt right there. Suddenly, he found himself standing in the park. Trees, grass, and even a creek beamed to life as he painted it.
Cheshin walked over and clapped him on shoulder, "you're pretty good at this."
"This is getting easier, I think."
"Good, because it's about to get much harder," Cheshin warned.
"I'm ready." Nepal was confident he could do whatever comes next.
"I'm going to attack you with something. You may not know what it is, but it will come to you in a form you may or may not be comfortable with."
"Attack?" Nepal wondered.
"You were being attacked when I first saw you. Do you remember that?"
Nepal remembered, "yes. Yes, I do."
"You must have been feeling something taking place. Something happening to you or to your body."
"Yeah, I remember it was like cold icy bugs crawling on my skin."
"It shouldn't be like that kind of an attack, but you will feel something. Your mind might interpret it differently than I do, but you will recognize it as an attack."
Apprehensive, Nepal agreed. Cheshin wheeled around, twisted and became a misty cloud. The mist spread out and covered the park in a haze. Nepal could smell a fire was burning and started to choke on the smoke that masked his landscape. His heart sank as sadness came over him. As soon as it seemed like there was no hope left in the world, the mist vanished and Cheshin stood before him.
"Sorry to hit you with that one," Cheshin said.
"What was that?"
"Like I said, I'm a better empath than anything else."
No longer depressed, Nepal still felt a residual sorrow tucked deep in the park, waiting for him. "I still feel it a bit."
"It's hard to turn emotions off and on. You need to learn to defend yourself," Cheshin explained. "You ready to learn how?"
"I don't know if I'm ready or not, but I'm willing to find out."
"That's not good enough in this case. We'll take a breather."
Nepal and Cheshin found themselves back in House Thero. They were drenched in sweat despite the cool temperature of the room. The clock on the wall, Nepal noted, had passed no time at all. They must have been gone for a minute or two at the most.
Nepal poured the last of the water from the pitcher into the glass. Not nearly enough to quench his thirst, he drank it eagerly.
"I'll get us some more water," Cheshin left the room, not waiting for a response.
A different Cheshin
He was more than thirsty. He sensed the hunger coming from Nepal. The kitchen was well stocked with fresh fruits and protein bars. One never knew when a psychic would come into their own. Emergency carbs, sugar and sports drinks were handy. "If nothing else, psychic abilities use a lot of energy," Cheshin reflected while assessing the pantry.
"They certainly do," Etten voice came up from behind. He pressed close, and wrapped himself around Cheshin.
Cheshin felt the warmth emanating from Etten. "What are you doing?"
Etten feigned shock, "why, I'm only here because you need
me."
Cheshin spun around in Ettens arms and was greeted with a long and passionate kiss. He returned the affection with an appetite. Out of breath, he released the lip lock and gasped for air. "We, we have to..." He started to say they had a job to do, and that they had no time for this, but he was cut off.
"We always have something to do," Etten complained, leading Cheshin backward to some unknown destination. "I want this to be our time." He sent a mental knock at the door of Cheshin's mind, and entered without waiting for a reply.
Their love for one another erupted. Each time they came together in this way, it was more powerful than the last. Only, this time it was very different. Etten felt the strength within Cheshin like never before, and Cheshin could see it through Etten's eyes. Cheshin could see Etten had not changed, but he was seen different, because Cheshin was seeing Etten in a different light. Something had changed in Cheshin. It was a powerful view. This feeling of being whole, belonging to one other, both physically and mentally. Their blood and hearts beating as one giant of themselves. They gave into each other and rocked the very foundation in which they formed their bond.
They fell apart from one another and hit the floor. They were in the hall. Kefen and Dru were leaning against the wall grinning at the lovers.
"Hungry?" Kefen asked.
Etten got up first saying, "yes, I was. So was he."
"We could tell," Dru smarted, still smiling.
"I'd better get Nepal something to eat," Cheshin grabbed Ettens arm and raised himself up. "He's hungry, too."
"Let's get ready," Dru snapped the order. "Jueqel's out there."
"How long were we at this?" Etten asked.
Kefen spoke pointedly, "long enough to make the entire house aware of your desires. Even the non-telepaths could hear your moaning."
"It was stimulating," a female voice came from the elevator as its doors were closing.
Dru laughed, "yes, it was. I get the feeling it will spread." He looked knowingly at Kefen. "Maybe Nepal is doing this? Now, let's get ready."
More dreams, Nepal
He swallowed and set the glass down. Waiting for Cheshin to return, Nepal slinked back into bed to get a little more sleep. He was tired. The psychic stuff could wait until later. He was hungry, though. When he got hungry enough, he was sure he would wake. Sleep overtook him the second his head hit the pillow.
The pantry was full of food, but a deeper hunger filled his loins. He turned off the menu from the monitor.
He pulled the jacket close to smell of it. The sent of flesh carried with it a desire to be satiated. He opened the desk drawer to find the photo. It was gone. Where did he see it last? Ah, yes. The courtyard. The city would have to forgive him.
He wanted what was rightfully his. He knew that would cost the city, but he had his rights, too. His pale green scales glistened with beads of sweat. There was a knocking at the door. Gaining his composure, he passed his hand over a lighted panel on his desk. The door to his office slid open, and a woman with scales the color of his own stepped inside.
She was crying. "I'm afraid I have to leave. There is nothing left for me to do here. I want to explore further out."
He thought she was mad, but her tears were real enough. He could not turn her away. "How can I help?"
She said, "I cannot leave without telling you, my son. You are not like the others. You're love is beyond. One day you may discover this, but for now ponder what I say. You are of my blood, my kin, of a far off place. How complete you may become, if you follow your path," she could not finish, because the tears came further.
Humoring her, he nodded an affirmation that won him the hearts of so many in the past.
She was not fooled. "Watch as I make my journey and leave you with this gift."
Her scales faded translucent. He was frightened. She was sick, he knew. She was like a ghost. He could see right through her. She was transparent as glass. Only her outline held where she had been. Her clothes collapsed to the floor, but she was gone save for a lingering voice that said, "child of me. Find the one you love. Never deny that." Then there was silence.
He did not know when he had lost the hunger in his loins, but he had been distracted from it. The woman had taken that moment away from him, but she had left something in its place.
Another knocking at the door made him stir, but this time Nepal sat up in the bed. "Wow. What a dream."
Cheshin turned red, "oh, yeah. Nice dream?"
"I'm not sure. Strange. Very strange." Nepal looked at the clock, and was surprised. "I've slept for half an hour?"
"Here, eat some food," Cheshin said shortly, still blushing. He set down the tray of eatables and a small pitcher of water.
They ate hungrily, and when they finished, Cheshin informed Nepal that Jueqel and the Yogan were about to encounter Karden.
Borrowed talents
Jueqel briefly lost himself in a thick gel of memories . It was like wading through through mud, the thoughts that were not his own clinging to him. His thoughts cleared quickly, and he felt himself being set down, lain behind a tree. He was spent without energy. "This is not right," he mumbled. He could hear a plane in the distance. The earth was cold. The bark on the tree poked through his shirt and dug uncomfortably into his side. The wind picked up, he thought.
He attempted to sense the presence of others, but could only find the faintest hint of them. "Need to rest," and when he let down his guard he was looking through the eyes of both Raymond and Nita. It was a dizzying to watch the world through two sets of eyes. He tried not to think about it too much, and just let it happen. He managed to get a sense of what they were doing.
The truck's headlights needed to be adjusted, the one on the right fluttered. It came to a screeching halt at the off ramp. The two moved quickly to keep out of sight. They enhanced their vision with a mental boost, needing the clearest picture they could get of their surroundings. That's when they noticed the objects in the sky. Augmented sight allowed them to see parachutes were dropping passengers. Espers, no doubt. They had to be Seishin masters. No one else would have been so bold as to chance a run in with the military.
Breyn was nearby, the two sensed her, but they couldn't tell where she was. Their cursory search revealed nothing useful. Unable to find her and unwilling to take on the distraction, they moved toward the parked truck, careful to stay out of site. If they could get close enough to him, they would have him. They did not want this prize to fall into the hands of House Sieshin. In unison, "disable the Sieshin, they are too close."
Jueqel felt his ability being used. Psychic static flew out from them in a wide arc and caught many of the Sieshin unawares. They would have to regroup and change tactics, but it would not take them long. Even so, the attack was clumsy, their skill inadequate for wielding his stolen talent.
Breyn's presence could no longer be felt by the two that had stolen his strength, but Jueqel could see her faint outline, a psychic signature he was familiar. "This has gone terribly wrong," he tried to say, but the words were dry on his lips. Kard was most likely killing her, he knew, but there was nothing he could do to stop the monster. With Jueqel's inner eye Kard's outline showed dark smoke issue forth and wrap Breyn in a cloud of psychic vapor.
The two must have caught this as well, because Raymond and Nita split off in opposite direction. They were going to try to flank him. Their speed was amazing. Jueqel had never before witnessed the full extent of turning your psychic abilities inward. Augmenting the physical form with psychic strength frightened him. "We'll end up destroying ourselves with this power," he remembered once telling Sherry. Doesn't the body get used up in the process? He was witnessing Yogan in action, and these two certainly did not appear to be used up, yet.
Jueqel suddenly found it hard to breath. His vision blurred, and he had to refocus. He sat propped up against a tree, facing the wooded area, and off to his left was the brick building with the word "MEN" in bold letters printed on the side next to a short breezeway.
Still too weak to do much, he managed to climb to his feet and brace himself against the trunk. He peered from behind the tree only to find he could not see down the sloping ramp where the events were unfolding. "Damn, Yogans."
A new trick
"Will this never end?" Kard asked of those who could not hear him and slammed on the brakes. Someone nearby was searching for him. He could feel them. Their anticipation. Their loathing. He wanted to stop for a rest, a nice nap. But, no. They were never going to let up. Why would they not leave him alone? He had a job to do. He had a mission. Granted it was his own mission, but it was what he had to do. People should butt out of his business. The children are waiting for him. His children.
She was over to the right, behind some trees. He could almost smell her scent. There were others, but they were further up the road. He sent out his probes and allowed them to wildly seek their target. He let the tendrils take over. He was tired and wanted sleep. If the tendrils needed his help, they would have to wake him.
His eyes closed for a second, maybe two, and the tendrils did find a target. They found a woman by the name of Breyn, pronounced "brain." Kard was amused by this. His tendrils fed him tidbits of information about the woman wrapped in the deadly embrace. She was not completely human, he discovered. She was made, no wait, she was born of a modified human genome. Some doctors doings. Her mothers had to fight for their freedom. They escaped with the others. The doctor hunted them for a while, but they were able to loose the man in the jungles of South
America. Others of their kind came looking for them, but they turned against the doctor as well.
"This is all very interesting, Breyn, but what do you really have to show me?" Kard forced the tendrils deeper into her psyche and found a gem of knowledge. A snapping in his mind sent a sliver of hot molten pain down his spine, but instead of disabling him, he drew strength from it. His tendrils found two other targets, and the one that had Breyn weakened. She was of little concern, now.
The other tendril's fed on the man and woman. They resisted him, and Kard found he had to struggle to gain any information from them. However, their life giving essence was potent. He drew from them every ounce of strength he could, but they were still coming. He decided to try his hand at using them against one another. He released the woman and focused his efforts on the man.
"Ah," Kard said in relief. This was a strong man. "This one is called Raymond. He is from the Yogan, and he is well built to take on any attack." Kard sunk his telepathic teeth into Raymond's mental jugular and seized control.
It was exhilarating to be in such a strong body, Kard thought. Here he found more gems of knowledge that would be of immense aid to him. He would have to sort it out in a moment, but for now, Kard sent Raymond the instructions to attack his partner, Nita. He enjoyed the power of suggestion. It made for such satisfying work knowing a job was going to be done well.
Kard released the Yogan once Raymond had grabbed Nita in a choke hold. He felt others were coming. Many others. He had no time to fight them all, and he doubted he could handle more than three of this caliber. "Keeping one of these Yogans under control is hard enough."
From Breyn, he had learned the vanishing trick of teleportation. He attempted it, and none too soon, he suspected.
Shared strength
"It's very unclear about what is happening down there," Dru said. "Kefen, help me get through."
Kefen cupped his hands over Dru's and closed his eyes. The viewing was too difficult and their combined strength could not penetrate the dark barrier that surrounded the area. Breyn had not reported back. "What is she doing?"
Etten reached in with his own hands and added his strength to the viewing, but it added little to their clarity.
Dru decided it might be time to get a boost. He sent a message to Cheshin, "bring Nepal."
The two arrived several seconds later. Dru set his suspicions aside. They had no time to waste. He needed to know what was going wrong. "Nepal, you may be able to help us. You have the ability to facilitate our combined abilities, giving us the boost we need to penetrate the encounter with Karden."
"He is taxed. He may not be strong enough," Cheshin sounded alarmed.
"No, it's alright." Nepal said eagerly. "If I can help, then I will."
Kefen added, "there is a risk to you, Nepal. You are not accustomed to our 'one mind'. We do not know what side effects there may be, but there is a chance of brain damage."
"Brain damage?" Nepal had never thought that possible.
"The risk is only slight, and if Cheshin channels what we need of you, then you do not have to become part of the 'one mind'," Dru said.
"We cannot ask him to do this," Cheshin said, obviously ready to defend his position on this.
"If Karden takes Breyn and Jueqel, would it still be worth the risk?" Dru asked.
"I'll do it," Nepal said before Cheshin could speak. "Just tell me how."
"Damn, if we only had more time," said Dru frustrated.
Cheshin spoke, "I can help him find his way to do this. He's doing it now, without even trying. I'll meld with him." He turned to Nepal, "just like in training. Only I'll do most of the landscape work." To the others he said, "join."
On cue Etten, Dru, and Kefen brought their hands together, a pinwheel of psychics. Cheshin asked Nepal, "place your hands on my shoulders once I have joined with them. I'll guide you the rest of the way." Then added his spoke to the wheel.
As soon as Nepal touched the joined Oragwains, he felt their presence. They were seeking a place. Trying to put an image in the landscape. He felt the pull of Cheshin's mind, "let me guide your strength, and help me see the place where Breyn and Jueqel are located."
Nepal could see the image they were going for. The place they sought drifted across the mindscape, but unsettled. He wanted the picture to settle. He had to see it. To many lives had been lost already. He didn't want to loose anymore. He tried to lend aid to their viewing.
"We got it," came the voices of Dru and Kefen.
They could see Brayn was lying on the ground, the Yogans were closing in on them. The instant he decided to do it, everyone knew that Dru was going to attack Karden. A psychic bolt of raw energy surged through them and let loose upon the monster. It struck true, but Karden only grew stronger from it.
Everyone felt the cramp arrest Nepal. The pain in his stomach shared by each of them. He doubled over and crashed to the floor. The world spun out of control. He felt something slipping away. Something important left him, and he lost consciousness.
Children laughing
Crystal woke to the sounds of her children laughing and making a ruckus. It was too early in the morning for this. She got out of bed and slipped on her robe and house shoes. "Kelly? Tony? What are you doing in there?"
The kids got louder as she walked down the hall. She thought she could hear the living room television, because unfamiliar voices were making jokes and cracking them up in the process. The TV was on, alright. But it had the word MUTE in green at the top right hand corner of the screen. "That's strange," she started to say, but then noticed the stranger in her home. He sat in the recliner. Her children, Kelly and Tony were jumping up and down in joyous delight.
"And then he threw the pie and hit Mr. Widdle!" said the stranger.
They laughed at this, throwing their hands in the air and running around and flopping onto the carpet.
A fever rose in her so hot, she felt her blood begin to boil. "Kelly. Tony." She wanted their attention, and spoke with a firm voice. The voice of a mother alarmed. The voice she used to command and protect. "Come here."
The stranger, the bald man was smiling. He paid her no notice. He only watched the girl and boy leave his side and cross the room crying "Mommy! Mommy!" The children were oblivious to the danger.
Crystal's voice came out feral, "get out of my house. NOW!"
The children froze.
"Kids, go to my room," she snapped at them. "Mr., I'm calling the police. If you know what's good for you, you'd better leave."
"Crystal, there is no need for alarm," got up from the chair.
"Do I know you? Don't come any closer or I swear you'll regret it. Kids, I said go to my room."
The children screamed and ran down the hall.
"Now, what did you go and do that for?"
"Why is this psycho so calm?" She thought. Her skin began to crawl with something cold. She dared not look away to see what it was for fear this man might lunge for her. She grabbed a lamp and yanked it from the wall socket. The crawling intensified. She saw a flash. A split second of an image, but it was enough. Her husband on the floor of the hospital. Not just her husband. There were other bodies next to his. "What's going on? Who are you? Why are you in my home?" She screamed at him. She feared being raped and killed, and her children dying at the hands of this man. Psychos are capable of anything.
"I am not interested in your sex. I have a higher purpose. However, my plans do not include you."
It got colder in the room. She wet herself and lost control of her bowels. She felt the tiny ice pricks as the crawling creatures bit her. So cold. She was tired. She had to protect her children. She could not let this man destroy her family.
A voice in her head told her, "your children are safe."
She believed it. It was true. She decided it would be good to go to sleep now. Darkness fell across her field of vision, but she never felt herself hit the floor, nor did she feel her head bash against the end table on her way down.
Quality time together
"This is the place," Kard said from the front yard of Timmy's house. "Is anyone home?"
A one story building made of brick and siding considered him with long droopy windows. Its never ending stare, cold and unwelcome. It did not smile, as he had hoped.
"How can such a thing as a house wish me so much ill will?" Kard also wondered why he was not tired. A few minutes ago, he was ready to fall asleep. The reflection passed.
Kard reached out with his tendrils. Softly. To touch what was inside. His children awaited him. He needed to know their names. How can he be a good father without their names? Dreams of distant lands and warped places of fun and frolic. Oh, how he loved those times. The children, whose names escaped him at the moment, were off in their own world of sleep.
His mind retreated from them and went in search of the kitchen. He was hungry. It didn't take long to find, and he teleported there instantly. The cookie jar atop the fridge brimmed with chocolate chip and sugar wafers. They were so good, he sent his tendrils out to the children to share in his glee. His children gushed delight at this.
This house had a large screen television. It had been a long time since he had seen one. After turning it on, a preview of an animated feature film was playing over and over. The children must have been watching this movie. He muted the set, and mentally checked on his sleeping darlings. Well, they were not his, yet, he thought. He didn't know them, but that would soon change.
Here, he discovered they had a common dream. The evening before they had watched this movie with a turtle and all kinds of talking fish. Oh, it was a wonderful movie, he discovered. They laughed and laughed. They laughed themselves silly. He wanted so much
to be part of their dreams.
He learned their names. He could be a good father with this information now added to his bag of gems of knowledge. They had nice names, but for now, their names will be Dotty and Martin. And they can pretend to be fish having fun in the ocean. Kard would dawn the role of the happy shark.
He put the images in their dreams, and when they woke, the children got out of bed and ran to the living room. They recognized the happy shark right away and quickly joined in on the fun in the ocean. The happy shark told the jokes and made the funny faces.
Everything was so fine. It was all perfect. One happy family playing together. "This is quality time," he told them.
A voice from far off called out to his children. "It must be from the land above," he said confused.
They ran around and then stopped. Something was wrong. Then that woman appeared. Who was she? He asked himself. Then he knew. This had all been a fantasy. The game was over. She had ruined it.
She had asked him to leave, but she was being very rude about it. He remembered her name, or he picked from her mind. He wasn't sure, but he let her know that her alarm for his children was uncalled for.
She made the kids leave the room. His play time was over. "Now, what did you go and do that for?" Kard asked. His tendrils leaped out at her. She was fierce. Her will was strong. She assumed he wanted her body? Under no uncertain terms was that going to happen, and he let her know.
More tendrils reached for her, her fear was like a spicy fire to him. This was new in a way that made him feel sorry for what he was doing to her. He let her know that his little ones would be safe. That she could dream nice dreams and everything would be alright.
He siphoned off the last of her will and took her strength into his own. She fell apart after that. Her head hit something when it fell, but she didn't need the body anyway.
He wanted to spend more of that quality time with his new family. "What shall we play next?"
Laughing on the inside
Jueqel's strength returned enough to walk. Maintaining balance challenged every step taken. He staggered to the sidewalk and managed to keep from hitting the cement. He could see the Yogans as they fought with one another. They weren't holding back, and Raymond had Nita pinned, and she struggled to get free from his grip.
Concerned for Breyn, but she wasn't in sight. The sky had people dropping into the nearby woods, but one landed nearer to the highway. The parachute folded together before the skydiver even touched down. "Sieshin masters," Jueqel muttered.
Unable to sense psychic activity, Jueqel ducked back into the woods to make his way around to where he had last seen Breyn. Leaves crunched underfoot and branches cracked, as he snuck noisily through the trees. A man dropped from a tree a few yards ahead of him. The darkly dressed man approached him cautiously. His goggles and headgear were not Sieshin gear. It was closer to standard issue military, special psi forces.
"Why are you here?" Jueqel asked.
The soldier aimed a pistol at him, and it ticked once lightly. His mannerism switched, but the weapon pointed just as threateningly. "I'm sorry sir, but this area is being secured." He jerked the gun toward a noise on his right, then beaded back to Jueqel. He hesitated. "A wild bear is on the loose. If you would go back to your vehicle and wait for someone to assist you, you would be doing us a great favor. Your safety is our main concern. We don't want there to be any..." He stopped talking and put one hand to his ear, listening to someone. It was loud enough for Jueqel to hear shouting but not what was shouted. Alarmed and agitated the soldier said firmly, "please, get back to your vehicle."
Jueqel recognized this tactic. The pistol was a psi-detector. "Shut up, I know the drill."
In a rougher voice, "Sir, you are in serious danger." He stepped closer and threatened with his gun. "Are you going to move on or would you like assistance getting back to your vehicle?"
"I don't have one. I'm an esper. Resonance," he included for good measure. "I have a friend that needs help down there."
The sound of air rapidly exiting the barrel of his pistol wasn't nearly as audible as the "ouch" that followed, but he could here it just the same.
It took a long time to fall to the ground. It seemed like ages. His weak limbs ignored commands to move. The instructions he'd given his arms yielded no response. His eyes swam in a slow moving arc out and then up to see the tree tops.
The earth was cool and soft, and the shimmering air was nice to look at. That soldier was not being nice, but I guess he had a lot of pressure. Securing an area would be lots of work, Jueqel imagined. Only, he couldn't understand what it really meant to secure an area.
It was funny to see the soldier up in the tree. "How'd he get up there?" Jueqel wondered. The soldier was making hand gestures or something. Maybe he got stuck.
Etten's face came into view and was saying something, but who could have said what that might have been. It was all a swirl of life gone by in ages. The silliness of the situation got Jueqel to laughing. He was helpless and that made it even funnier. Only, he couldn't laugh out loud. He did, however, manage a smile.
More than hurt
Nepal did not know the home, reminiscent of a sad face. He saw it from the yard.
Next he found himself in a kitchen and ate some cookies. "Am I dreaming?" He tried to speak, but nothing came out. He tried to move but didn't go in the right direction. The television turned on. Did he turn it on? Couldn't tell.
A DVD's introduction was playing on the set. He had seen this animated feature before. It felt good to watch it the first time. Perhaps he'd watch it again. Was he about to watch it again? Not even sure if he had heard the sound, the word "MUTE" popped up on the screen. How strange.
Then the dream got better. Two little fish danced and played in the ocean. They laughed at his jokes. These jokes he'd never heard before. They were funny. Very funny, he knew, but he could not remember the words to them even after punchline had been spoken. The dream lasted a long time it seemed.
But after a while, the ocean went away, and a woman was yelling at him. She obviously wanted him to leave, but when he tried, something held him. There were two little children in the room. "Where did they come from?" he wanted to ask, but he had no voice.
The woman looked sick and before she fainted, Nepal recognized her as Timmy's wife.
Something was tugging on Nepal. He tried to shake it off. Tried to ignore it. He wanted to finish the dream, to know what happened next, but the tugging was persistent.
Reality crashed in on him like a cold shower. He was left shivering.
They had not moved him from the floor, only draped a blanket over him.
"You had us worried," Cheshin said, siting on the floor. "Between you, Jueqel, and Breyn, I thought I'd be fresh out of worry."
Nepal remembered the link he'd shared with the Oragwains. "What happened?"
"Dru saw an opportunity to take Kard out," Cheshin began.
Nepal cut him off, "yea, I know that. I mean, why do I feel like I just past a stone for old mother Earth?"
"Not sure," Chesin said with a shrug that let Nepal know he was afraid to say.
"How can I find out?"
"Jueqel should be around in a bit. He got hit with demerol. The Yogans that were with him have been removing all traces of it from his system." Cheshin looked up suddenly. "Dru."
"How's he doing?" asked Dru.
Nepal bristled, "he's doing fine."
"I'm glad you are alright."
"No thanks to you," Nepal said, bitter.
Cheshin was looking at Dru scornfully.
"You volunteered," Dru was looking at Cheshin when he said it. "You were not the only one hurt by this monster."
"I think I was more than just hurt," Nepal said. Apprehensive about telling them of his dream, he opened and closed his mouth several times but didn't speak, no longer sure if he could trust them.
Dru's head snapped from Nepal back to Cheshin. Again, to Nepal, and more tenderly, he said, "You should get to your bed. Can you stand? Here, let me help you."
"I'd like to talk to Jueqel as soon as he's around," Nepal told Dru and Cheshin as they helped him into bed.
Brief
"There was a military psi on the scene. I'd like to know how they found out about the ambush we planned," Jueqel wasn't even out of bed before he started to brief those surrounding him.
"Etten took out two of them," came the now familiar pleasant voice. "The other houses have seers. They would have utilized any resource to obtain that man."
Jueqel snapped out of his delirium at hearing Raymond speak. He backed away on the bed until the wall blocked his escpae. "Keep away from me."
Raymond straightened up from sitting on the bed.
Nita scoffed, "fine way to treat someone who's been saving your life."
Jueqel responded, "you have no right."
"We have every right," she retorted.
Jueqel was in his room at the Red House. "And what are you doing in this House? Your kind are not allowed in here," on the verge of yelling.
"Ingrate," Nita said.
Etten shimmered into the room. He exclaimed, "you're up!" His excitement went unnoticed.
Jueqel sent a barrage of questions, never stopping to let Etten answer. "Why are these two here? Do you know what they did? Who let them in? Do you know what will happen now that these two have access to this place? What's gotten in to you people? How far did you let them roam?"
Calmly Etten spoke and pointed to the Yogans, "you're up, thanks to these two."
"Thanks to Raymond," Nita corrected harshly. She wanted no credit for it.
"Oh, no," Jueqel pained a deep sign. "You didn't let them? Tell me you didn't let them." But he knew they did allow the Yogan, or Raymond, at least, into his head, and that upset him.
"You were going comatose," Etten explained. "The Yogan techniques are
the most effective, and we didn't want to take any chances."
Jueqel was about to say that they should have left him in the coma, but that would have been a desperate attempt to retort a moot argument. A lie at best. The Yogan's ability to turn the body into an extension of their mind made them legendary healers. Though, they rarely used this to help others. Purging poison was one of the few things Jueqel had ever approved of about the House Yogan. "You could have asked," he said, knowing it was a lame response, but he had to object to something. Not wanting to give in to thoir decision. After all, it was ultimately the correct one, no matter how much he disliked the thought of melding with a Yogan.
He looked up to Raymond and noted his cheeks were a dark rose color. Raymond said, "you are welcome." He abruptly exited the room.
Nita stood dumbfounded. Her expression turned to an odd mixture of embarrassment and anger. Something she was obviously not used to feeling and stormed after Raymond.
"That was weird," Jueqel said, relieved they were gone.
Etten whispered, "Raymond stayed by your side the entire time. He never once took his eyes off of you."
Jueqel asked, "how long have I been out of it?"
"It has been a little over an hour."
Jueqel mulled over the events at the rest stop. He remembered the psychic impressions the Yogans had missed, "did you find Breyn? Is she alright?"
"Yes," Etten assured him. "She's a bit shaken up, but she'll survive."
"So, what happened?"
"It turned into a mess as soon as you and Yogans joined forces," Etten started.
"Joined? Stolen would be more accurate," Jueqel inserted.
"Can I tell you what happened?" Etten asked, perturbed at the interruption.
"Sorry, yes. Please, go on."
"Not long before you joined with the Yogans, we had a tough time viewing. It got worse as time went on. Dru was putting a lot of effort into the viewing, but it didn't do much good. It got to the point that we couldn't see anything remotely. Kefen and I added out strength to his, but it still got us nowhere. That's when Dru asked for Nepal's help. He was willing enough, but I don't think we should have asked."
"Why not? Did something happen?" Jueqel asked, clinically interested in anything Psychinian.
"We got through to the scene, and Karden was in sight. Dru tapped into the extra strength Nepal was giving us. When he attacked, Karden appeared to get stronger."
"What? Who attacked? Nepal?"
"Dru sent the attack, but we all allowed it to happen. Even Nepal did not object. That is until he came around and realized what danger he had been in."
"Nepal is well?" Jueqel asked, eager to know his condition. "Of course, he would be."
"He's sleeping, but he wants to talk to you as soon as you are up for it."
Jueqel noticed Raymond's shoulder leaning against the hallway wall, and thought he might need to thank them. He wasn't sure he was up to it. Later, perhaps.
"What about the military?" Jueqel asked.
"Once Kard left the scene, viewing cleared up. I got there as quick as I could. I left the guy that shot you up in a tree. His superiors will know what to do with him. I pinned a subliminal message to his brain. There were other operatives in the area and a dozen Seishin. I got our team out before anyone could be questioned, but we were noticed. They will have figured out by now that the Thero and Yogan are working together. I' m sure they realized Oragwains were there. Their precogs and sensors will figure it out eventually anyway. I imagine the Seishin and military have their hands full with each other. Seishin will not take kindly to being captured, even if they've overstepped their authority."
Jueqel got mild satisfaction from knowing Seishin and military would have to explain with great difficulty their presence or most likely ignore either one was near. The military psi were disliked by the blank force leaders. "We'll send cleanup crews, and see what we can patch up. We'll have to reveal our secret to another blank, and I don't like that." Jueqel decided that would most definiately wait, and turned his attention to thing closer to home. He recapped, "so, Dru tapped Nepal as a resource and attacked Karden?"
"Yes. Dru despises Karden with a deep passion. He believes Karden is a monster. I agree with him, but Dru's passion goes beyond anger at the deaths of innocent people in the wrong place at the wrong time. This monster is no where near anything we have encountered in a long time. Not since Dr. Oragwain. Dru hates this monster as much as he hates Dr. Oragwain. Perhaps more."
Jueqel considered a moment and asked, "did you ever find the doctor?"
"There was nothing we could have done to him if we had found him, but the answer is no. We never found him. We never really wanted to. I take that back. We wanted to know where he was only because we wanted to know he was far away."
"Why couldn't you have done anything to the doctor?"
"We could not harm Dr. Oragwain," Etten explained, though hesitant. "We could not harm him, because we were designed with a failsafe to never turn against him."
"But you did turn on him."
"Technically, no. We turned away from him. We got as far away as we could. Not all of us at first. I was one of the later creations. I was sent out to find the others, but once I joined the 'one mind', I turned from the doctor, as well."
"Was he that bad?" Jueqel asked. This was more information than he had ever obtained at any one sitting. He wanted to hear more.
"Yes, he was that bad," Etten said. "The doctor was obsessed with creating the perfect human with all the abilities of the strongest psychics, combined with a kindness found in the selfless, and self discipline to rival anything humans have yet achieved. Once he found it, he would encourage those to produce offspring."
"Have there been any children?"
"Yes, Breyn is one."
"You are amazing people," Jueqel admitted his envy. "Even in his madness, Dr. Oragwain was a brilliant scientist."
Etten seemed to take offense to that. He snapped, "he was no scientist. Not a true one. Sure, he knew his biology, but just enough to give his talent what it needed to work on experiments. We are psychic creations. He used his esper abilities to augment his genes and others to create us."
"I meant no offense," Jueqel apologized.
Raymond shuffled his feet. Jueqel had forgotten he was standing just outside the room. He had not meant the Yogan to hear any of that. The bear looked to Jueqel and stared. Something in his eyes spoke softly, but Jueqel was not listening.
Baggage
Nita motioned Raymond to follow her. They walked down the hall, and when they were out of earshot, she gave him a contemptuous glare, "you'll get nowhere with that one!"
"Shut up," Raymond snapped. "It's non of your concern."
"It's all our concern," white haired woman insisted, and held out her hand.
"No, not yet," Raymond pleaded. He did not want these feelings to go away so soon. He wanted a little private time, but it was futile to resist.
She grabbed for his hand, and he did not stop her. She was his superior, after all. Her grip managed to always be firm and supple.
They searched together, winding through the chemical pathways of his nervous system, up through the spine, and then into the brain. Their probing detected unwanted chemicals building in his system. Distractions that would make the Yogan weak were severed and rebuilt with alternative routes. Unfortunately there were too many of them. Raymond had spent too much time with Jueqel, making it an impossible to task to finish in such a short period of time. More Yogan would be needed to find them all.
Nita released him. "You attempted a bonding," she accused.
"No."
"Then why so many connections?"
"I cannot explain it."
"Try," she demanded.
"I put too much effort into the purging of his system," he tried to come across as emotionless. He wasn't sure if it was coming out that way. "I had to find the poison through all routes."
"So, you attempted a bonding," she concluded. "I should strike you down and dispose of you right here. He is not Yogan. He rejected us then and he rejects us now."
Raymond knew she dared not dispose of him in this place. "I will submit to a full cleansing when we get back to the Green House."
She got into his face and said, "yes. You will."
Raymond could see that had made her back off a little, but he carried hazardous baggage that she would not let him forget.
Lines of thread
Light snoring prevented Nepal from ever reaching sleep. So, he laid there listening to the rhythmic inhale of Cheshin's nap. After a while, Nepal's mind began to wander. He thought about the hospital and how all those people had died. The feeling of icy insects biting him still haunted him. Of how Cheshin showed up from out of nowhere, and then they went to nowhere. Or somewhere that had silver cords. Only, that was more like a dream. Wasn't it? These things had his head spinning again, but Nepal resisted putting it aside. He wanted to think about this.
A longer snore pulled Nepal back into the room and back to thinking about Cheshin. When he concentrated, and sometimes not even then, he could see silver threads, which appeared to overlay everyone. Cheshin had more of those threads, he noticed. He pulled his hand up to his face and looked for the silver. To his surprise the threads were there. Many of the intertwined. On closer inspection, it was apparent that the threads formed a pattern. They lead from one to another, looped and twined, sometimes coming back in upon themselves. Some threads, branched out and away from him, but then looped around to rejoin the other threads.
Nepal decided to try the painting trick he had learned from working with Cheshin. Taking a thread and painting it into a different pattern, Nepal felt cold air blow right through him, skin tingled, and mild disorientation. He knew at once that the closer threads affected
him differently than the ones further away. Only some of those threads were not his. They were the things surrounding him. "This is so weird," he thought aloud.
One loud snore startled Nepal. Cheshin sat up and asked, "hey, you up?"
Nepal smiled, "yes, I am. Couldn't sleep."
"Me neither," Cheshin agreed.
"Oh, yeah. So, you always snore for long periods of waking?"
"Was I asleep?"
Nepal nodded.
"Sorry."
"No problem."
Cheshin looked around, sleep still fresh on his puffed face. "I thought I heard you say something, or was I just dreaming?"
"I was practicing what you had showed me earlier."
"I thought you'd be tired," Cheshin said.
"I was, but I think I need to know more about what's happened to me."
"Too hot?" Cheshin looked down at the blankets.
"Just moving objects with my mind."
Cheshin's expression changed to amazement. "Moving objects? I never showed you how to do that."
Nepal was curious about the reaction and proud of himself for amazing someone like Cheshin. "It's those silver threads I see everywhere."
"Silver threads? When did you start seeing those?" Cheshin asked.
"Just after we first met. When you took us to the void with all the cords." Nepal could help but mention it him.
Chesin asked slowly. "You see the threads?"
"Yes." Nepal answered. Psychic's of Cheshin's caliber shouldn't be shocked at that. Should they?
"I'm the only one that has ever seen the threads, that I knew of. I've always seen a faint silver in things, but I never put much stock in them. We all thought it was part of Dr. Oragwain's experiments, because each of us were given a different set of genes."
"Given different genes? What, like a test tube baby?" Nepal asked, but when he heard it sounded like ridicule. "Ah, I didn't mean it like that. I mean you were genetically modified?"
Cheshin didn't appear to take offense, "I was in the first few batches. Dru and Kefen came before me. The 'one mind' has always been the hardest part of being an Oragwain, but Dru says it helps keep us safe. We're pretty much not human like everyone else." Cheshin got quiet.
"Something wrong?" Nepal asked.
"No, it's just that you are not human either. More so than me. I think you need to talk to Jueqel." Cheshin closed his eyes and said, "he's up. I'll tell him you want to talk."
"Wait," Nepal said quickly. "Can I try that? Telepathy?"
Cheshin was apprehensive, "are you sure?"
"I feel strong enough," he answered.
"Jueqel isn't a real telepath. He's good at sending a message and getting them, but it's awkward for him, and more like impressions. You have to be careful not to send too much at once," Cheshin sounded protective.
"If you don't think I should try, then I won't."
"No, no. You should try. I just think that you should try with me."
"O.K.," Nepal agreed. He didn't wait for Cheshin to instruct him. Nepal's mind reached out for Cheshin's, and allowed an open link to form between them. It was getting easier.
Nepal paid careful attention to Cheshin's mental communiation. The threads in his minds eye formed a picture of Jueqel, an outline mostly. Words and images that represented a concept leaped out from Cheshin to Jueqel's outline. It was brief, but strong.
The link broke away and Nepal said, "wow."
Cheshin gasped for air, "wow, is right."
Alarmed, Nepal waited for Cheshin to explain.
"I could see the silver more clearly this time," Cheshin said. "They leaped out of me like lines of thread with messages attached." His eyes closed again, and he said, "Jueqel's on his way."
Hugs
A door slammed. Tendrils made their way down the hall and into the room that used to be his new children's mother's room, but before his psychic appendages found them, Kard knew they were scared?
An hour ago this might have upset him, but the Yogan gave him a gem that had taught him moods can be controlled, molded, and made to conform to proper norms. The children only required an adjustment, a mental fixing.
"Children, my kiddies, please," he begged to them. He tried to sound reassuring and comforting as he walked down the all. "Everything is find and dandy. You'll see."
He read their emotions, and with each foot fall they had grown more fearful. His tendrils touched them ever so lightly reaching for their emotional center. He passed to them a trick he had learned from the hospital. When something was upsetting, know that it was not real. Know it to your core. A nightmare to be forgotten, and you will never have to dream that again. "It's not real. This dream will get better. I always gets better. And when you wake, you'll be happy in bed. With your new father."
The children hesitated at the thought of their "new" father, but let it go when Kard sent pleasant thoughts of bubbles and happy sea creatures. Their apprehension dimmed the more he changed the patterns of emotional stimuli, but for all his trials, the image of their mother falling to the floor broke through and threatened to disrupt their new happy family.
At that moment he felt a sense of destiny. Some higher purpose was coming into play, and it would be he that caused a dawning of a new age. His tendrils lost their strength, and he was having a difficult time keeping the children in his thoughts. They were distant, and very hard to read. His stomach cramped, and what was clear a few seconds ago, was not even a memory now.
He clutched his belly to stave off the pain, but it was overwhelming his senses. "I can't give up on my children," he said on his way to laying on the floor. He stopped his tendril's probing, and brought them inside. He turned his thoughts inward to find the pain. The pain battered him, and made him weak. He found it, but did not know how to make it stop. His tendril's slashed and hammered a the pain, but that only made it worse. He heard a creaking sound, but didn't know what that meant. Was he old and creaking now? No, that made no sense. He pulled his tendrils back into himself and tried to remember what the Yogan gems were. Caressing the mind, coaxing it to do as it should, cut the the parts that harmed you, and that made it stop.
Kard could not move. He was helpless on the ground. The cut he had made must have been important to him. He tried to speak, but the dribble from his mouth was incoherent to his own ears. He began to panic, but it did no good. Panic required an outlet that he had just blocked.
He reached out with his tendrils to check on the children. They had the door slightly ajar, peering at him. With their eyes he could see the man on the floor was flopping around, not unlike a fish.
"Well, I'm not completely helpless," he sent his thoughts to them.
"What's wrong Mr.?" Tony asked.
"Don't talk to him," Kelly scolded her younger brother. "He's a stranger."
Kard projected the images from the vast ocean and happy shark.
Tony objected, "he's not a stranger. He's the Happy Shark."
Kard lightly touched their minds. Stubborn Kelly refused to believe the floppy man was the happy shark.
Kard sent pictures of the Happy Shark flopping on a deck.
Kelly giggled, and scrunched up her face. "No," she resounded.
"What can I do to make you believe I am not threat?" He asked her pointedly.
"Ah," she either did not understand the question, or was truly take aback by the exasperated voice in her head.
It didn't matter, Kard had decided. His body was broken. Somehow he had broken it. He didn't know how to fix it. He used a tendril to prop himself up, but the effort unbalanced him and he fell face first toward the ground, only catching himself at the last moment with a telekinetic push. He laid his useless body to lean up against the wall.
"I should call the cops," she told her brother.
"No, no," Tony yelled at her. "They'll take away our Happy Shark."
She turned on him and screamed, "He is not a Happy Shark. He is a bad man."
Kard couldn't take it anymore. A tendril seized the little girl and pulled her life into his. Before it was done, he had a flash of inspiration, and stopped. She laid down on the floor, shivering. Kard heard her say something but was too busy with the matter at hand that he failed to notice what she said.
Tony yelled a him, "Mr. Shark! My sister! Help her!"
Kard felt a twinge of hope for the girls survival, almost like he was watching a movie and the girl was in a scene and about to die. He always hoped she would survive, but knew that she was one of the victims, and that was how they played out in the movies. Sometimes they made everything alright, but you were on the edge of your seat, waiting to find out what happened next. He wanted her to live, because she was special. She was going to make it. She was going to pull through.
Kard poured his strength into her body. The effort was a struggle, and the more he sent her way the harder it was to maintain his doings. He needed more strength, so he stole a little from her. With one tendril he projected himself, and with the other he pulled on her strength.
This went on for a little while, but it got easier and easier to help the girl. Then it stopped. Tony was patting him on the shoulder saying, "she's going to be O.K."
During the giving and taking of life forces, there came a point when Kard could not longer see. He lost his hearing, as well. His only touch with the world around him had been the boy, Tony. He was a good boy to stick by his new father, and he told Tony as much.
Feeling came back into Kard's hands and legs, and then the rest of him. It was still dark, but he was starting to feel good.
He inhaled deeply and Tony gave him a big hug. "Kelly! You're O.K." He yelled into Kard's ear.
Kard could no longer feel Kelly's presence. Tony had a very strong presence, but Kelly's was nowhere to be found. He searched with his mind. Funny. "She's gone," he thought. He tried to see. Tried to open his eyes, but it was difficult. He felt dizzy and something pulled on his head. He touched his scalp, only to find he had grown hair. Not
just a little bit, but a whole heads worth, and long.
His eyes eventually did open. Much effort went into focusing. He had turned around somehow, facing the living room and not the bedroom door. His eyes adjusted and then he could see his body laying propped up against the wall ten feet away and down the hallway.
Kard could feel that Tony was still hugging him.
Speed bag and dumbbell
Breyn's arms were tired, but she didn't want to stop. The exercise helped her focus, helped her vent. Helped her not think about that monster crawling around in her head. She couldn't even call upon the 'one-mind' for help. "How could I have been so stupid," she chided herself.
She found a weight room, and had been working out for the last half hour. Working out felt good. "One-Two-Three," she said, punching the bag in front of her. It rattled backward and forth to the rythem of her beating. She forced herself to pick up speed. She wanted to go faster and faster, letting loose upon the hanging bag. Da-da-da, da-da-da, it went, playing like music to drown out the voice in her head, her own.
Her mind went back to the incident. She wanted to observe the monster from a safe distance. That's all, but he detected her. He knew she was there. That monster knew she was hiding, but he found her and invaded her mind. He took her like she was a rag doll. Her rage picked up along with the speed at which she flung her fists, a blur if anyone could see them at all. She punch a heavy blow to the speed bag, and that knocked it off its mount. It went flying across the gym and behind other equipment.
She felt Dru's presence before he arrived. She did not wait patiently for them. She huffed and picked another speed bag hanging a few feet from the now missing one and began to rapidly toss punches.
"You could have been a Yogan," Dru said.
"What do you want?" Still punched at the speed bag.
"You've been blocking me," he accused.
"Yea, so?" She feigned ignorance.
"I think we should talk about this."
"No," she said in the most final voice she could muster.
"You did good out there," he complimented.
She couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic, but assumed it was to just get her talking. It worked, "I screwed up. I should not have been anywhere near that place."
"No, no. We didn't know what we were up against. The three that were sent after him..."
"You mean Jueqel and the Yogans," she said smartly. She stopped punching, turned and faced Dru.
"Yes, those three," Dru agreed. "They were in just as much danger as you. We don't know what would have happened if the whole thing had been allowed to played out. Unfortunately, Karden got away."
"How can something like that exist?" she asked, expecting an answer.
Dru studdied her, "you know the answer to that question."
She did know. This monster was as strong as Dr. Oragwain. "It can't be him."
"No, I don't think it is him."
"But he's like Oragwain," she said.
"You never actually got to meet the doctor," Dru said. "You only have what you know from the 'one-mind' memory, which is almost good enough. You know you're mothers would be proud of you."
"Are you trying to change the subject?"
"Just a little, I guess," Dru admitted.
"Doctor Oragwain? Was he as strong as Karden?" She asked.
"If you will let me in, I will try to find out."
"No," she said immediately. She didn't want anyone in her head right now. It was too sensitive and too early. She might end up hurting anyone inside.
"We've got to find this monster before he kills again. I'm afraid he may have already." He picked up a five pound dumbbell and held it out in the palm of his hand. "Can you hold this with your mind?" He challenged her.
There was nothing to think about, she called her inner strength that allowed her to move objects with her mind. Invisible hands reached out to hold the dumbbell. Dru released and it went to the floor, but she was able to bring it back up with a quick telekinetic reaction. She couldn't help but smile at him. Dru wanted her to focus on her abilities, and not herself, she realized. "Yes, I will let you in."
Dru nodded and shimmered out of the room.
What we know of Psychinians
Nepal watched the silver lining in everything around him. A strange hue covered everything, at least they were strange to his eyes. He had been accustomed to viewing the world through his own human eyes, that he didn't know exactly how to feel about the new world he had discovered. The harder he looked the more distant he felt.
He sensed Jueqel's approach and turned to look his way. "Hello, Jueqel," Nepal said this before he could see anyone.
"I see your adjusting to your new talents," Jueqel said as he entered the bedroom.
Nepal nodded, "yes."
"You wanted to talk to me?"
Nepal nodded his head, again.
"I can only imagine how it must feel to find out you are not human," Jueqel said.
Nepal was not exactly ready for that, "about that."
"You don't feel inhuman?"
"Right," Nepal agreed.
Jueqel pulled up a chair and sat with his legs swung over and facing the backward on the chair. His hands gripped the chair's back and stretched his arms. "I would not expect you could feel inhuman. Not yet, anyway."
"In what way am I different than everyone else?" Nepal asked.
"We've been tracking Psychinian family lines for a long time. Much of our data is incomplete, and it was been difficult at best to find suitable candidates. You are the only Psychinian I have ever spoken to about this."
"Why is that?"
"When a Psychinian reaches a point in his or her or its life, consciousness has a new meaning for them."
"I'm not following you," Nepal pleaded.
"Like everyone else, a Psychinian can lead a normal life of a human. Live, have children, grow old and die."
"Alright, so how do you know I'm one of these?"
"We are not one hundred percent positive, but all the signs are here. Your capacity to fend off the attack of Karden is one clue. Only a Psychinian and a select few of the psychics on the Earth could ever have managed that alone." Jueqel cleared his throat, "may I have some water?"
"Sure. Go ahead. Are you one of those few psychics?" Nepal asked.
Jueqel continued after taking a sip. "No, I don't think I am, but some might disagree with me."
"So, what else makes you think I'm not human?"
"In all respects, except one, you are a human," Jueqel said.
Nepal found this a bit confusing, "and that means what?"
"Psychinians are whatever they choose to be. If they choose to be human, then they are human. The choice is usually not of their choosing, but that is an odd point. I need to clarify that."
"Please."
"We believe that Psychinians are all part of a long line of a single Psychinian."
"You're not sure," Nepal was skeptical. "You are basing this on what?"
Jueqel took another sip of water and asked, "what do you remember about your mother?"
"What do my parents have to do about this?" He asked defensive, but realized his parents had everything to do with family lines.
Jueqel looked at him crossly. "Without them you would not be here, but besides that, I'm talking about your mother, only. Was there anything unusual about your mother's life or behavior? Anything out of the ordinary? Maybe something you found eccentric?"
"No," he lied. "She seemed like a pretty normal mom to me." The fact that he never knew her to sleep would be considered out of the ordinary.
"You may not have ever noticed," Jueqel waved it off. "You had an ancestor that showed up in our records. She may have been a Psychinian, but it is unclear if the woman in question had changed her name before having children. The record goes cold for about 40 years, and a lot can happen for 40 years. This is the only family link to your lineage that we can find. This link, however, minimal, holds a great deal of significance to your potential to being a Psychinian."
"That's it?" Nepal asked.
"No," Jueqel answered patiently.
"Then what is a Psychinian?"
"Like I said, Psychinians live and die like everyone else, but I have avoided telling you that Psychinians don't have to die. They never have to die, unless they choose to die." Jueqel explained.
"But my mother died."
"That's because she chose to do so," Jueqel tone was clinical and reflective.
Nepal started to object, but Jueqel's hand waved him to not interrupt.
"Before you take offense, your mother was not aware of her lineage. Her choice was not really a choice she made consciously. Apparently, no member of your bloodline has been aware of their heritage since the 1600's. I hope that by telling you this, that you will learn more about yourself and provide us with some insight into your people."
"My people? And what else makes me what you think I am?"
"Besides your exceptional psychic strength and possible heritage, nothing really. There are no tests that could reveal it, but one. And taking that test would realize your full potential. That would mean the end of your current existence."
Nepal didn't like the sound of, "current existence?"
"Or records indicate that when our organization was first formed, or just before it was formed, a close friend of a Psychinian discovered his friend had unusual abilities. They discussed the Psychinians condition and decided that it should be investigated further. Together they formed The Seekers of Resonance People. They tried to find others like the Psychinian. They became close friends and looked for signs that might show who was Psychinian. They had very little luck, until one day the Psychinian and his friend telepathically linked with one another to delve deep into the Psychinians mind. The records indicate they were locked in mental rapport for days, but it doesn't say exactly how many. When it was all done, the friend nearly died from the lack of nourishment. The Psychinian looked completely healthy and required no food or drink after that. He helped his friend back to health and told him that many things were coming into his mind.
He found the answers to a great many thing, and that he needed more. He craved to move on. Then, as his friend watched, the Psychinian faded out of existence right before the eyes of at least six other Seekers."
Nepal felt a chill in the room and rubbed his hands over his arms. "Is it cold in here?"
"Yes, a little." Jueqel answered. "I can turn on the heat." He got up to do so.
Nepal recalled the dreams he had been having. The dreams about the silver cords being his family line through his mother's side. The dream about the woman fading out of her clothes. "What am I?"
"It is really hard to tell," Jueqel said. "We've been trying to figure that one out for a few thousand years. We can only guess, and perhaps you can provide some insight."
Nepal wanted desperately to tell of his dream, but he held his tongue.
Jueqel reassured him, "it's alright if you don't want to help. Your existence here is not a trivial thing. We are under the impression that when you do find the answers that you seek, you will move on to find more questions."
That did it. Nepal had to tell, "I had a dream. A couple dreams. They happened this morning. We were caught in a void. After Cheshin pulled me out of the hospital. We were tossing and turning in a strange between way, and then I guess I fell asleep. I started to dream about silver cords floating in space. Only it wasn't space, it was more like nothingness. There were no stars or planets, and the only thing I could see were silver cords. Some cords would cross one another, but that 's all there were." He drank some of his water. "I was alone with the silver cords. I moved down one them, and I saw one floating by itself like a worm on the cement after a rain. When I reached it, it turned out to be two cords. One of the cords slipped out of my grip and the other one got too big and I fell into it. The next thing I knew I was here."
"That was your first dream?" Jueqel asked.
Nepal nodded and continued, "the next dream was about a woman. It was in two parts. The first part I was on an alien world with lots of aliens. There was an alien woman that sat upon a bench. She was crying. The next part of it I dreamed in a continuation of the second dream. I was sitting behind a desk. I was some sort of political person, and that woman on the bench came in looking like a homeless insane person looking for a handout. But she said somethings that I don't quite remember. Other than she said I was family and that she had made the people grow and that she had to move on." Nepal swallowed more water and concluded, "that's all I remember, but it seemed important, after what you just told me."
Jueqel's eyes widened. "I must ask you, if I may?"
"Yes?"
"I have to ask you to not leave us. Will you stay and let us know more?" Jueqel tone was desperate.
Nepal didn't know how to say no to this, "I'll stay."
"I mean stay with House Thero," Jueqel clarified.
Nepal knew what he meant, "yes, I'll stay with the House. But I have to let my father know."
Jueqel's expression switched from desperation to joy and then to puzzlement, "your father? Oh, Nepal. I must tell you."
Nepal waited a moment and asked, "what?"
"Oh, never mind. It's not important right now. You've had enough for one day." Jueqel laughed, but it sounded like he was putting too much effort into it. "Are you hungry? Let's eat breakfast."
Nepal was hungry, "breakfast sounds great."
Don't worry
Tony pulled away and went over to the man. "Mr. Shark?" he asked in a timid voice and pushed on the body. It slumped to the ground, and that made Tony scream.
Kard watched his body slump over lifeless. Tony looking at the man on the floor and back to him desperate and ready to panic. He tried to get up, but found the effort difficult. He went dizzy and had to sit. He tried again, and forced himself to keep from falling. He braced himself on the wall.
"Kelly, something is wrong with Mr. Shark," Tony explained.
Kard looked for Kelly. The effort made his head spin, and dirty blond hair fell into his eyes. He fell back to the floor. He could not see Kelly. Rationally, it was not sinking in. He tried to send out his tendrils, but nothing happened.
Tony had come back over to where he was, and touched Kard's cheek. "Kelly?" he spoke into Kard's face. He held both cheeks, now, and turned Kard's head to face him to make sure he had Kard's attention. "Kelly! Mr. Shark is hurting."
The world spun out of control, and Kard laid himself back on the floor. It felt safer on the floor.
Tony screamed again, "Mommy!" This was the hair curdling scream that came from terror caused by a world shattering event.
An emotion so strong that for an instant, Kard sensed what the boy was feeling. Kard was becoming sadder by the moment. He wanted to sleep. He wanted to curl up and find a nice place to sleep.
"Kelly, help Mommy," Tony begged. He was saying something else, but Kard was too tired to recall what that was.
Kard had to rest. So, he slept.
With all the noise that followed, it didn't take long to wake up again, but the room had changed. Things smelt familiar. It was the smell of antiseptic and cleanser. The sheets were white. The blanket was white. He was in a bed. A room with a TV and tall curtains. The railings on either side of his bed had been raised to keep him from falling off. There was a beeping to his left. He turned his head to see what it was. It was a heart monitor, he could see plainly.
His head spun for a second, but it quickly passed. His hand felt sore, and when he looked at it, he was looking at unfamiliar fingers, palm, and wrist. They were too small of hands to be his own, but when he moved them this way and that, the hand responded as if it were his own.
The IV attached to his wrist felt uncomfortable, but it was less of a distraction now. He reached up for his face and felt along its features. That's when he encountered the hair he had found before. He had not been ready to believe it then, but this time time, there was no denying it. He was Kelly.
Then he remembered his own body laying lifeless on the floor at that woman's house. "Oh, my," came from his lips, but the voice was not his own. It was the little girls voice. "I don't think this will do. No, not at all. I can't hang out in this," he began talking to himself.
A man dressed in all white came into the room. Kard got a little upset that he had not sensed the man's presence and could not sense it now. "Hello, Kelly," the man said in a tone he knew all to well. It was that condescending tone one gets from hospital personnel when they think someone is immature enough to enjoy baby talk.
"Hello," Kard tried to speak just as condescending, but it came out crackling and mixed with too much rage. It sounded as if he was excited and happy, which was the last thing that he felt at the moment.
"And how are you feeling today?" the man asked. He began to move about the room, picking up items, checking equipment, writing something down, and adjusting the curtains.
Kard wanted to know his name. So, he attempted to probe the man's mind, but everything was coming up blank. "I can't," he said under his breath.
"I said, how are you feeling today?" the man repeated, patiently showing the contempt nurses always showed Kard. "Oh, how silly of me," the man said in an even more pleasant voice. "I didn't even introduce myself. I'm Tanner, and I'm just about to leave work, but you will have a nice young lady coming in here in a little while to take care of you. Her name is Breanna, and she's just the sweetest person you ever could meet."
This goo goo talk would drive Kard insane. By this time Tanner was at the foot of the bed, smiling his bright white smile, with his bright white shirt, talking his bright white talk. Kard let out a, "AAAHHH!" An instinctive tendril reached out for Tanner, and found it's target, but only briefly. Tanner bounced away from the tendril as if struck by a soft blow to the stomach.
Tanner became alarmed, and ran out of the room saying, "don't worry, I'll get you some help."
Coldness deep inside
Why should he have to forget? Is it not natural to fall in love? Something humans have been doing since human copulation was even possible?
"No," Raymond told himself. "I cannot be in love. It is against all the rules. It's against everything I believe in. It would not be respected. I need to be cleansed." He repeated these things to himself over and again.
"Jueqel is not worth it. He doesn't even like the Yogan. How can I think he would reciprocate friendship, let alone love?" He stopped himself from digging the emotion deeper. Even thinking about the possibility made it that much harder to stop.
Raymond looked inside himself and dove into his psyche. He reached for the emotional thread that was causing him so much trouble, and tracked it to it source. He set to work on repairing the damage. Rewiring his mind, emotions, and even altering his own memory, not changing the facts, but changing the perspective. He didn't want to have to deal with this again, and it would also make it easier in the cleaning process.
It took some time before he accomplished the task, but he was sure he had the emotional baggage wrapped in a nice little package for easy retrieval.
He opened his eyes. Nita was staring down at him, "everything fixed?" She said this with artful warmth. Unusual for her, he didn't like it.
"Packaged up," Raymond snapped.
"We'll see," she snapped back.
"When do we leave?"
"In thirteen minutes," she answered.
"Just in time then," he admonished.
"Indeed," she said coldly.
That was more like it. Nita was cold. That's who she was to the core. He needed to be cold like she was, always in control. With these new emotions packaged away for the House to remove, he felt much closer to the coldness that dwelt deep inside him.
Psychic Blanks
"The precogs are reporting some post-cognition reports.
I've confirmed it with the authorities. Karden Lowen body was found dead," Sherry's voice expressed concern over this.
"Good," Dru said. "That's one less lunatic in the world."
"He found the house of one of the employees that worked at the hospital," she continued. "Kard killed the mother and may have tried to kill the children, according to police. However, we have come to believe the children were not in any immediate mortal danger. The emotional imprint left at the scene indicated a very happy and playful time, up until the mother had died. Things went fuzzy soon after that."
"How did he die?" Jueqel asked.
"The police think it was an aneurism, but have not confirmed it. We have confirmed that Karden did die from blood vessel dilatations in the brain," she was attempting to sound clinical, Nepal thought. "We could also tell it was deliberate."
"Suicide?" Nepal asked. "Is that even possible for a psychic to do that?"
"Insane ones, I'd guess," Etten said, shrugging.
"Dilations? You mean more than one?" Jueqel asked.
"Yes, that is correct," Sherry answered. She smiled, apparently pleased that someone picked up on that fact. "He tried to fix something that was happening in his brain."
"Fix what?" Nepal asked.
"Yes, fix what?" Jueqel asked.
"We have not determined that, as of yet, but it may be related to the medications that caused him to come around. We're looking into the matter." She appeared expectant.
"You're holding out on us, Sherry," Jueqel said. "Spill it."
She playfully twisted her hands together, and looked as embarrassed as she ever had. "There was one thing that we're having trouble with. The children have been hard to track down. More specifically, the girl. We know where they are, but psychically, they are hard to see."
Nepal spoke up, "I don't think Karden is dead."
Everyone turned to face Nepal with the same questions, "Why?"
"I think I would have felt it," He said. "I've been having these flashes of being in another place. It was a dream at first. I was at a house. The house had two children, a girl and a boy. There was a ocean fish game that we all played. I did not feel like myself. I had no control over the dream. There was a woman that was killed, I think. She hit her head on a table."
"The mother is reported to have died from trauma from a head wound." Sherry admitted. "However, we believe she was dead prior to that. Her life force had been in a standing position when it left her final living impression."
Nepal continued, "I next dreamed about being in a hospital bed. There was a man that came in and something pushed him backward. He ran from the room."
"You say these were dreams?" Etten asked.
Dru scoffed, "Dreams?"
"Yes, the first one was a dream, but the second one was after I ate breakfast," Nepal looked apologetically toward Jueqel. He wanted to tell Jueqel then, but other things got on his mind and he soon forgot to mention it. He wasn't even sure it was real.
"When we attacked Karden," began Kefen. "I felt I had lost something. Well, it wasn't me, it was that Nepal felt something had been lost. We all felt it while we were joined."
Nepal remembered. "Yes, that's right. Something seemed to be missing there at the last."
"I remember," Dru admitted.
"You think that there is a link between you and Karden?" Etten asked.
"I think Nepal is just discovering his abilities," Jueqel added, waving his hands as if the topic was going in the wrong direction.
"No, I think they have it right," Nepal objected. "Something was lost to Karden. I think it was part of me. Something that..."
Jueqel interrupted, "that's impossible. Psychininas cannot loose parts of themselves, can th..." he trailed off to consider.
"Yes, I think we can," Nepal said.
"So, what happened to Karden? If he's dead, how can he be going?" Dru asked.
"One of two things happened," Sherry said in that I'm glad you asked perky tone. "The first is that Karden had time to manipulate the children's minds to be similar to his own. At least partially. We think he may have the ability to actually give blanks psychic abilities."
Dru's fist slammed down on the table. "What!" It was not a question.
Sherry stepped back from the outrage and glanced at the exit. Obviously sizing up her escape route. "I..." was all she could manage to say.
Jueqel snapped a quick glare at Dru and mouthed, "calm down."
Dru sat down, disgusted, and gave a grudging palms out, which indicated she should continue her briefing.
Sherry timidly stepped back up to the table. "Karden may have switched bodies with the girl. He may have had the ability to do that. If he did switch bodies, then he may or may not have replaced the girls mind with his own. If she is in there with him, she might be fighting to get her body back, but most likely she would know how. If she does fight back, then he might end up erasing all remnants of her mind from his new body."
"The girl is either possessed by Karden or hypnotized by him?" Nepal asked.
Jueqel nodded, "that's a good analogy."
Cheshin readies the Yogans
Cheshin stepped up to the Yogans. "We'll be leaving here in a few minutes. I've been asked to escort you to our destination." His tone was emotionless as he looked them up and down. He allowed his eyes to see to that place in the world that had the silver lining. The aluminum hue overlaid their forms. He could see the psychic energy they pulsed into their own bodies. It was as if these two were on steroids. Which, in a way, they were.
"Why do you look at us like that?" Raymond asked.
Nita was obviously shocked at the statement. She slowly turned her head to eye him.
His manner was cold and calculated, and he repeated the question when Cheshin did not answer right away.
"What way?" Cheshin asked.
"Why do we care?" Nita asked of Raymond.
"Curiosity," Raymond said plainly.
"Because they think of us as monsters," she answered. Contempt was in her voice, along with fear and something else Cheshin couldn't quite put his finger on.
"Yes, in a way you are correct," Cheshin feigned aloofness. "You modify your own bodies. You are not as human as you once were."
"You are not human," Nita spit out.
"We never were," Cheshin retorted. "But we are human in our hearts. You do not appear to be even close to having a human heart."
"Human is a state of genetics," she said in a clear confident voice that spoke of disdain for those not of her ilk. "Self made humans are still humans. Test-tube..." She started, but cut herself off.
"So, you say," Cheshin conceded. The conversation would have gone nowhere, but that wasn't the purpose of the little chat. He knew enough about them now. Although she was cold, she had something inside that burned. He could use that, if it came to down to needing take them out. The man, however, was suppressing something far more sinister. Something he was going to loose control over. It would eat at him, and betray him. Cheshin was sure of it.
Cheshin briefed them on what was discussed earlier, and brought them up to speed on the whereabouts of the little girl that may contain Karden. "Before we go, I must also tell you, the hospital is full of sick children, many of them are orphans. We don't want an incident that we have to clean up. I'll take you two through the back entrance. Others will take and close in on the remaining sides. I'll be in periodic contact with you, so keep your mind open to my signature. It will be a temporary rapport. And I will be two seconds away, if you need me."
"Sounds like a good plan," Raymond said.
"Fine," Nita said.
Cheshin did not like the sound of that "fine". "Then lets go," he told them.
Plan of action
Jueqel knew he had to tolerate the Yogans one more time, if he could. He didn't know what they were up to, but it didn't feel right to him. There was some other motive behind their actions. Especially that Raymond guy.
One wrong move, and he would disable the Yogan. He would disable the entire area, if it came to that. He turned to sketch of the hospital grounds. He would be brought in on the south side, the Yogans would be near the East Wing.
Jueqel looked up from the map and told those present, "Perhaps, I should go in first and suppress all psychic activity. It think it's the best chance we have of getting Karden."
Breyn was shaking her head, "Karden will sense you coming. He was quick. I had no time to react."
"How did Cheshin get by the encounter? I mean, he stood between me and Karden, and he wasn't stopped," said Nepal.
"Didn't Cheshin mention anything about being attacked?" Jueqel asked.
"Cheshin wasn't feeling all that well when he got to the site. I think the psychic storm made him nauseous. We were not helping matters by maintaining the 'one-mind'," Etten answered.
"So, was he attacked?" Jueqel asked.
"I don't know, but I would say no," Etten answered.
Nepal closed his eyes. His face contorted with concentration. When he opened them again, he said, "He does not remember getting attacked. It wasn't like Breyn's chilling experience or anyone else's creapy crawling." Nepal glowed with pride.
Jueqel noticed Nepal's use of his new found psychic talent. "Nice to see you putting your abilities to practice," Jueqel commented.
"I think sending you in first would be a bad idea," Dru said.
"If I knock out all psychic activity..." Jueqel began.
"If you knock out all psychic activity, we will be unable to provide you with backup," Dru cut him off. "And if you can't suppress Karden enough to keep him from killing you or getting away, we would be worse off than we are now."
The room got quiet. Jueqel felt he needed to get close to Karden and broke the annoying silence with, "what if the team were to come in the old fashioned way. By vehicle. We'll have the local police to help."
He looked to the others in the room. Their expressions were all mixed with apprehension. Perhaps it wasn't the best of plans, but it seemed a good one to
him.
Jueqel inhaled a quick breath of surprise. Someone was coming with an important message. Nepal had it noticed, too.
Seconds later, Sherry came running into the room, "wait, wait." She stopped at the table, panting from the effort. "I think you should know, there is a problem with Karden." She stopped talking and stared wide eyed at all the people in the room. Her mouth quivered like she wanted to say more, but couldn't.
Jueqel wanted to laugh, but thought that would be inappropriate. "Sherry, it's alright. You know everyone here. Take a deep breath and let us know what going on. Peoples lives are at stake."
That snapped her out of it, "people are in danger. Yes. You're right. Sorry. I have to tell you. Karden did not swap bodies. Yes, he did leave his body, but it wasn't a swap. The girl was not in his body. That means she is in danger."
"Is in danger?" Nepal questioned. There was confusion in his voice.
"If she is still in there, her mind may have retreated to some corner. He may have erased her, but it is unlikely."
"Why would you say that?" Dru asked.
Sherry stuttered at answering his question, "I, I..." She visibly calmed herself by taking a deep breath. Letting it all out at once she began, "Karden would not know how to erase a memory so completely. That takes training." She seemed pleased with herself. She did manage to get that part out without falling apart at talking to Dru.
"What do we know of Karden?" Kefen asked.
"We know he drained the life out of all those people at the hospital. He could do that again," Sherry answered. "There is a report of a Psi-cop that may have run into Karden on a road not far from the hospital."
"He picked through my mind. It was painful. I had flashes of things I'd done. It was so cold," Breyn shuttered. "My memory came alive, but he twisted my thoughts. I thought I was dying when my life passed before me."
"He vanished from the rest stop," Jueqel added. "So, he can teleport, now."
Breyn affirmed, "that was one of the memories he'd pulled from me."
"It means he learns from sifting through memories," Kefen said.
"Or something similar, yes," Jueqel added.
Nepal said, "he was able to blow the door of its henges."
"He has a kind of telepathy," Dru put in. "And possibly empathic abilities. Remember the wakeup call we all got early this morning?"
"And he can absorb psychic attacks," Nepal said, looking at Dru.
Dru ignored any implication Nepal may have suggested.
"He can transplant his consciousness," Sherry said.
"It also means that Karden is not bound by the rules of mortals anymore," Jueqel added. "He has at his disposal an array of getaway routes. His arsenal is unmatched, and we don't know how to hurt him. Besides that we don't want to hurt the little girl."
"Don't forget he may be vulnerable to a psychic storm or to getting sick," Etten added.
"What do the Yogans say about him?" Dru asked.
Cheshin was shimmering into the room when the question had been asked. Jueqel and Nepal were already looking to the spot where he was to appear. Cheshin's voice came echoing in with his presence, "as usual, the Yogans will require something in return for information, but I think Raymond would talk to us. The ice giant he serves will give us nothing, I'm afraid." He looked around and asked, "are we going, now?"
Nepal asked, "what's the little girls name?"
Sherry answered, "Kelly."
Kelly's birthday
Tim Brady dressed as a clown for his daughter's birthday. "Happy Birthday" was written across his chest. All the children knew it was Kelly's father, but they easily put that information aside when he started doing magic tricks. Balloon animals and hats played in every child's hand. No one was left behind. Not even the parents that came. For most of them had funny balloon jewelry decorating their necks or arms. It was a big deal for the neighborhood. Tim had made sure of that.
Nepal laughed at the cute jokes. Tim's annoying laugh was endearing when he had that getup on. "Tim, you were born to be a clown," he called out.
Tim gave him a wry smile that was exaggerated by the clown makeup. That made the kids laugh. So, he did some tumbles and little acrobatic tricks that parents should probably avoid. It looked like he pulled something there, but chose to ignore the pain.
Kelly was having the most fun of them all. Her little brother was next in line for the happy race.
"TIME FOR CAKE!" TimTim The Clown announced.
Happily they cheered and went to large bench. Kelly took charge of seat selection. She had designated each spot and which would be best, depending on who was going to sit by who. "I want you here and you here. You can't sit there cause you fight too much." The parents watching her take control couldn't help but laugh. The other children obeyed her. No questions. Except of course for her brother. He wanted to be on her right side, just to be contrary. Kelly obliged without question.
Nepal thought it was a good party. He had never known as good a party when he was a child. Kelly was a strong willed, take charge little girl. Her little brother seemed like a quick study, mimicking her attitude and manerisms.
"They are going to make one hell of a team," Nepal said to Crystal.
"I hope so," Crystal said with more than a touch of pride.
Welcome to the family
"She's deathly pale," Kard heard someone say outside his room.
Weak from his earlier efforts, he laid his head down. If he was in someone else's body, he could take it easy for a while. Take a break. Close my eyes for a little while.
Kard found himself in a playground. He was the tallest kid. He didn't recognize anyone here. He had been left alone with all these children. The other kids didn't seem to be all there. They played and played, but they were not having fun. There was one little girl in a bright red jacket that jumped off of her swing and came bounding toward him. She was coming toward him so quickly, he thought she would bowl him over.
"Who are you?" She asked. Stopping inches away from him.
Kard backed off from this very bold little girl. She was intimidating with her bright red jacket. She even appeared to get larger as she stood there expectant.
"Name!" She demanded.
Kard jumped awake in his bed, the dream quickly becoming a distant memory. He felt cold and clammy.
A lady was adjusting one of the machines next to his bed, "how are you feeling?"
"Not so good," Kard's voice came out crackling, and he wasn't sure she heard him.
"We'll fix that right up," she said and punched a few buttons on the machine.
A wash of familiar warmth filled him. I know that feeling. It was some drug they were pumping into him. Into the little girls body. "It wasn't fair", he heard himself say.
He panicked and sent out a tendril to the woman. This time it found its mark. He pushed her mind, and commanded it to stop the medication. The nurse did as instructed, sat down in the chair beside her and took a break from all the hard work she had been doing the past thirty minutes.
Kard picked through her mind a little, but found the effort was too hard to maintain for very long. "This body is not big enough for me," he thought out loud. Again, he was surprised at the crackle in his voice. Instead, he decided he needed a little sustenance, and feed off of her life force.
The medication began to wear off almost immediately, and in no time at all the woman had slouched over the arm of the chair. The next nurse to come in, Kard was ready for. He drained the man as he had so many others. He was beginning to feel whole again. "Maybe this body is going to be alright for me, after all."
Before this nurse had fallen dead, he punched up a button on the wall. He didn't have a chance to say anything before he fell, but it was enough to bring in another nurse.
Only this time, it was a doctor that walked into the room. The doctor noticed the little girl looked healthy, but the two nurses on the floor alarmed him. Kard didn't give the doctor time to respond before he forced his tendrils to drain as quickly as they could.
Soon, Kard felt good enough to move on his own. He swung his legs to the side of the bed, but found the whole process complicated. First his new body was out of proportion to what he was used to. It kept getting dizzy on him. Second, the rails wouldn't move, and he did know how to unlock them. Third, getting out from under the layers of sheet and blanket was hard, because it seemed heavier than these things used to be.
Using his tendrils to do the work for him, Kard was moving objects as needed. He got down from the bed after nearly falling from it, and attempted to walk. He gripped the sides to help balance himself. It was hard going at first, but he was starting to get the hang of it.
Suddenly, the floor rushed toward him. He put his hands out before he hit the sand with a soft crunch. The little girl in red was towering above him. "I asked you for your name?"
Had she pushed him down into the sand? He couldn't remember. Was he just here a second ago? He couldn't remember that either.
"Get up, so I can push you again." She said angrly.
Kard felt as though he should cry. This was very upsetting. His parents were not here. These kids were mean. This girl was likely going to beat him up.
She grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off the ground. She pushed him backward, and he hit the floor of his room.
Kard's I.V. popped out and he was bleeding. It hurt with a deep throbbing pain, and he felt weak.
Just then his next victim walked in and saw the little girl on the floor. Alarmed, the nurse didn't notice the other bodies but quickly tried to patch up the wound. The nurse grabbed for something, that's when she notice the bodies. Her alarm heightened.
The tendrils did their work and soon another body was lying on the floor. The bleeding had slowed, but not stopped. Kard plucked from the nurses mind how to stop the bleeding. He applied pressure
with the gauze and waited before he tried to move again.
He didn't know how long he could keep this up. If people kept coming in the room, he wouldn't be able to climb over the hill they would make. He chuckled at this, but did not find it funny in the least.
He looked up at the girl in red. Something about her looked familiar. Did he know her?
"If you don't give me your name, I'm going to be so mad that you'll regret it!" she yelled at him with such force that Kard the world went flying.
His head hit the floor of his room. The pain was intense. He felt two tendrils reach out in random directions. They found one patient. It was a little boy. The boy was Tony.
Kard pulled the tendril away. He didn't want to hurt his little boy. He worked so a hard to have a little boy. His children. He would protect his children. He could do it from the girls body. Or maybe he'd find a new body. He wasn't sure how, but it could be done again.
Remembered plans, Kard resolved to move on them. "I've got to get Tony," his voice cracked. "We've got to get out of here."
Tony would have to help. Kard wasn't strong enough in this body to get far. So, he decided he would teach Tony how to do things with his mind.
Tendrils reached into Tony's psyche. He was awake, but just barely. They had to medicate him for some reason. The tendrils opened up pathways of thought that Kard thought might be useful for teaching.
"Hello, Tony. I want to show you some things. No. No. Don't resist. This is going to be fun. Would you like to learned to move objects with your mind?"
For a while Kard thought he could hear screaming, but that was so far away, it didn't seem to matter. So much didn't matter. Only teaching Tony what he needed to learn. Tony needed help, and he needed Tony's help, but Tony's mind wasn't accepting the things he needed to be able to do things properly. Kard found he could change a few things in the mind. Fix a few thing. Put them in their proper place. Make the mind better able to handle the lessons. Kard didn't think the lessons were hard, but they needed to learned and corrections had to be made.
It was taking forever to get through to Tony, but the lessons were almost complete. A short break and all would be well. Just a little break. The world around Kard went dim for a little while.
Kard watched the hallway lights pass him. He was on a gurney. They were taking him somewhere. A mask was on his face. They were saying something, but it wasn't important.
Tendril reached out for the people around him and he slowed to a standstill. Once he had his fill, the orderlies, nurses, and doctors fell one by one.
"I'm tired of being pushed around," his voice still cracked, but it was getting a lot easier.
More people came, he could feel it. He drained them and felt stronger. He sat up and looked around. He managed to not be dizzy this time. People were rushing about. Back the way he had come, a someone collapsed. Then another. Kard had not fed on them. Curious, he sent his tendrils out to investigate. He found a chilly sensation that almost crawled upon his own tendrils.
Part of the game
"I'm tellin' you, I feel somethin's about to happen," said the elderly man on the bench to the younger man beside him. They were waiting for a bus, and twice a minute the old man would say, "duh bus is comin'." He got these feelings, you see.
The bus was due any moment. So, the old man would be proved right when it pulled up, but until then they would sit. Nephew would listen to his uncle's chatter.
"Uncle," said the younger man. "Something is always about to happen. That's how the world turns. Now, stop going on like it's the end of the world again. I don't know what those doctors give you, but every time I bring you here, you're jumping out of your skin."
Nearly noon, the rays of the sun shown down glinting off parked cars. The bus stop was in an odd place, being so close to the emergency entrance. Nephew figured they knew what they were doing when they built the place. Good thing he wasn't in charge of building this hospital. The bus stop would be well away from any emergency vehicles.
The bus came into view, but it stopped to the flashing lights. Police cars pulled out in front to block traffic. More flashing light came around and over the median. From the other direction fire trucks, ambulance, and unmarked cars started to fill the street.
"Damn, hehe," Uncle giggling that old laugh that old timers do so well. "I tol' ya. Din't I? I tol' ya."
"Wonder what's going on?" Nephew asked.
"Yourn mama had them feelins' too. Ain't cha feelin' it?"
"Yes, Uncle. I do." Nephew did feel it. In fact, he knew the feeling very well. "Mamma done told you. Now, hush," he said, starting to sound like his uncle. That was unsettling enough. He reached into his shirt and pulled out a charm. He recited a few words. Slowly, in his mind he could see trouble. Perhaps bodies on the ground? He was just about to get a clear picture.
"Damn, boy!" Uncle yelled in his nephew's ear. "You practicing that hoodoo?"
The image was blown. Nephew wheeled on his uncle and wanted nothing better than to throw fury at him, but the old coot was smiling, and it was hard to smack him down down when he smiled. Instead he settled for a less violent way and socked Uncle in the arm playfully, "what'd you go and do that for?"
Before the old man could smart off something equally rude as the time he farted loudly in the library, a calm chill wind blew in over them. Made them cold and tired and had the creeps all at once.
Nephew tried one of his mamma's spells. An incantation to ward off evil. He started it, but never finished. He'd forgotten the words about halfway through. His thoughts muffled when two demon or angel spirits talked in his head.
The first disembodied voice poked fun at him, "look my son. This one thinks he is casting spells."
A younger disembodied voice laughed gleefully, "is that real magic, Mr. Shark?"
Mr. Shark replied, "maybe, but it looks like he's psychic and doesn't know it. Here is another lesson for you. Dig out his thoughts and tell me what you find. Is it really magic?"
The son was apprehensive, "but will it hurt?"
"No, it's only a game. Like a video game. You will be fine. No one important gets hurt in our games."
That settled Son, and what happened next was more painful than anything Nephew had ever felt in his entire life. His memories were ripped out one by one. He had remembered a time when... and then it was gone.
After explaining each memory to Mr. Shark, Nephew could not remember which memories were missing. Son paid no attention to Nephew's screams. "Those aren't real screams. It's part of the game," Son told Nephew. Nephew was very close to believing him, but each time the pain would rip him a new one.
Another voice intruded into his thoughts, "the pain is real, Tony. You're hurting a real person."
The last thing Nephew remembered was a fight ensuing. He wasn't sure what kind of fight, but he knew he had lost.
Amateur
Armand took off his blindfold and the audience applauded loud and long. The absorbed enthusiasm for his performance replenished his confidence. All doubts about his work as a performing artist melted away. He kept reliving the end of last week's performance. It felt good to be back in the show. Hopefully tonight's show would be just as good.
One thing kept troubling his mind. The nightmare he'd had last night made it hard for him to concentrate. Getting up to use the restroom as everyone else had was even more disturbing. And who was this "Nepal" he was going to meet?
The nightmare began simply as an ocean voyage to some tropical island. It promised to be a good dream, but as soon as the sail was up, the sky turned dark and the waves began to crash. It was horrible from that moment on. Nepal kept asking, "how do you steer this?" Armand had never sailed in his life, but in this dream he knew all about sailing. He tried to explain it to Nepal, but the waves kept knocking him over and the wind made talking ineffective.
The dream was clear enough to him. Nepal was someone he was to meet with and teach. The rest of it was as clear as his blindfold. Well, if this is going to happen, I'd best get in touch with him. Armand pulled out an old board with peg inserts. He picked them out and closed his eyes. He focused on the holes and inserted pegs as quickly as he could find them without looking. When he was done, he felt satisfied his mind was clear enough for the task ahead.
"Nepal," he said aloud. "Calling Nepal." He felt absurd every time he did this, but it usually worked with the image of them in his mind .
A faint almost audible buzzing at the back of his imagination got louder. It built in strength and a voice came through so loud he covered his ears, as if that would block out a loud voice that was only in his head. "Hello? Who is this?" asked the booming voice.
Armand got the impression the guy on the other end was thinking he was on a telephone. That's when he realized at he had to get this guy some help. "Why do I get the amateurs?"
Nepal asked, "what?"
"Hi Nepal. Do you know who I am?"
Armand felt a pressure in his mind. An intruder. Nepal was clumsily rummaging around for Armand's identity. "My name is Armand. Would you like some help finding it in there?"
Another pressure, this one more precise and not at all clumsy, penetrated his psyche. It was almost painful, but it soon stopped.
"Armand, I am Etten," came a second mind. "Sorry for the intrusion, but you contacted us."
"I was trying to help..."
"Yes, you were. And I would appreciate it if you would meet us in person."
As soon as Armand agreed, the air shimmered and he found himself in a different room surrounded by people he did not recognize save Nepal. "I'm here. What can I do you for?" Armand tried to sound pleasant.
"Your timing is incredible," Dru said. His voice suspicious.
"Not
anymore incredible than what you just did," Armand was looking about the room. This was real. He was transported to this place. Who knows where?
"You've trained new psychics, and now you are looking for Nepal?" Etten asked.
"That's it in a nutshell," Armand admitted.
"How?" Nepal asked. "How'd you know I needed training?"
Armand considered the question. It was something he got used to doing. He'd get a feeling and a dream. The next thing he'd be doing is showing someone else how to tap into their potential. "It was meant to be," he said. It was lame, but what else could he say? "I've been at this for years. It happens two or three times a year, and I help the new guys and gals get used the underworld."
"Underworld?" Dru scoffed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"No offense, but the world we live in isn't exactly on top," Armand defended his remark.
Jueqel interrupted before Dru could speak. "Semantics. Drop it. We have more pressing thing to get done." He turned to Etten and said, "I don't like the idea of you bringing in psychics off the street. We've compromised enough already."
"Hey," Armand objected. "I'm not some street psychic. I'm a trainer."
Jueqel cut him off and went clinical, "excuse me. No offense was meant. Street psychics is a term we use for your kind. You refer to yourself as a Trainer, did you say?"
Armand did take offense, and told them as much.
"Semantics!" Dru snapped, "I do not live in the underworld."
Well, they had him there. "I get your point. I'm here to help. Nepal, this is unusual. I'm used to someone with a little less strength behind their abilities."
"Can we speed this along?" Dru said impatient.
Jueqel put up his hand and said, "you're right. We have to go."
Nepal cried out, "aren't I going with you?"
Jueqel laughed, "no. I don't think you can be of much use just yet. You're still learning. This man here will show you the ropes. Take it slow, but I'm sure you will learn quickly. The longer we put this off the more people are going to get hurt."
Armand was alarmed at these words, "people are getting hurt? What do you guys do around here? You are pretending to be superheros or anything like that, are you?"
Jueqel rolled his eyes, "this is House Thero."
This was unexpected, and Armand hoped it didn't show on his face, but it did, he knew. "I see."
Jueqel pointed to Sherry, "she is in charge here."
Sherry squeaked.
Jueqel had always wanted to do that to her. "She can help you find a place to safely show Nepal what he needs."
Armand was more concerned about getting back home. He didn't want to miss tonight's show, and if at all possible he didn't want to be in this house. "How do I get back home?"
Everyone was ignoring him by this time, except for Sherry and Nepal. "Come this way, please," Sherry said. "I'm sure they will get you home when they get back."
"Why isn't anyone worried I might be a danger here?" Armand asked.
Sherry looked at him with eyes anyone would get lost in, "I would have seen it, if you were a danger." She blushed, "besides, everyone here is far more dangerous than you are, I expect." She blushed even more this time. "Here's a good place to start," she directed his attention to a set of double doors.
The doors opened into a large room with mats on the floor and padding on the walls. "Expecting violence?" Armand asked, but then regretted asking.
Luckily, she didn't answer.
Nepal seemed eager enough, "let's get started."
Armand said, "yes," and took out his cue cards.
Final lesson
Nepal watched as Armand pulled out cards and paper and a marker. His almond eyes were knowing, his skin light tan and dark hair cropped short. Nepal couldn't help but notice the strong shoulders, and muscular arms would show underneath the fetching charcoal suit each time he bent his elbows. The five o'clock shadow added to his already significant sex appeal. If circumstances were different, Nepal may have asked him out.
"This can be dangerous. Why are you so eager?" Armand asked.
Nepal realized he must have been fidgeting. "I think I can help my friends," Nepal answered.
"How can you help them if you cannot control your abilities."
"I'm not sure I need to control them as much as everyone thinks," Nepal said. "Let's get started."
"Right then," Armand consented. "Lets find out what you know. When I first contacted you, your mental communication was, shall we say, a bit much. Do you think you can try it again, but this time with less force?"
Nepal felt a little embarrassed at is naiveness. "Sorry, I wasn't sure you could hear me. The message was too faint." He stopped hoping he had not said the wrong thing and started again. "Sorry, I didn't mean to imply you were not a all that potent. Ah, sorry, I didn't mean that your potency was bad, because I don't know how potent you are. Ahem, no that not right, I mean. It's just that," Nepal stumbled for the words, but everything he wanted to say would just come out wrong. He gave up.
Armand stared, his face as blank and serious.
"O.K. I'll try it. How can I do this?" Nepal asked.
"Send me some thoughts. And I'll tell you when it's too 'loud'." Armand instructed.
"Like what?"
"I'll start then," Armand said. "I'm going to think something to you. Follow through with what I'm about to think."
Nepal closed his eyes and waited for a message from the really hot guy standing in front of him. He wondered how soft his lips were, but then remembered that he should be waiting for a message. When it didn't come, he opened his eyes.
Armand was shaded in varying reds, blush and bashful. He was smiling. "Close you're eyes, please," he ordered, his voice sweet. "I'm sending the message now."
Nepal waited and started to shake his head to indicate he wasn't getting the message, but found on the return shake, he was stopped by a pair of lips pressing onto his, forcing his mouth open. The stubble prickled his face and brought with it a stimulating sensation that broke him into a passionate embrace. Nepal kissed back and drew Armand closer.
An inner voice spoke to him, "you're mind is open." It was Armand's voice. "Focus on me."
"No problem there," Nepal thought.
"Other may be listening to us," Armand warned.
Nepal tried to pull away, but Armand resisted.
"No. Focus on me. Place a wall around us. Keep everyone else out of our thoughts," Armand instructed.
"How?"
"Imagine a wall around us," they broke away for air, and then started making out with more desperation. "Do it now, Nepal. Imagine a wall. Keep everyone else out," Armand demanded.
Nepal felt a surge of strength and imagined a wall. It was easier to imagine the wall painted into place and then dragged around them.
"Very good," Armand was pleased. "You did that easily enough. Now, let me into your mind. Let me inside you."
Nepal wondered, "how?"
"Let me know you, Nepal," Armand insisted.
Nepal felt a mental pressure, something he had felt before, but this was easier. Softer and stronger. This was a firm request. Nothing like the first time.
Armand was reaching inside, feeling his way around. Probing Nepal in and out. "Show me more passion, Nepal," Armand instructed.
Nepal recalled what passion he could from the past, and then knew there had never been passion the likes of which he was feeling now. Nepal brought the passion he was currently feeling to Armand, and in return, Armand did the same for him, cycling their whirlwind affection. Their adoration for one another built upon the lust that surged between them.
As their senses began to merge, the scent of each other was made that much stronger. Skin on skin was translated over and over into a powerful tactile sensitivity, which threatened to explode between them with each movement, for each movement was like a thousand movements of the same. Half open eyes would catch glimpses of their facial features, they could hardly tell who's eyes belonged to who, who's lips where who's. Their sensuous sounds echoed to each other in waves of harmonic pulsing that stimulated their rhythmic embrace. Tasting their masculinity brought new heights to their orgasmic attack upon one another. Naked to their shared consciousness, they spent an eternity probing themselves, hunting and stalking that which made them promise more and feeding upon it for one another.
The pressure between them built until they were ready to burst, and when they did, things were just beginning to fall into place.
Armand pulled away from Nepal. They were still standing, but their clothes were drenched. Sweat penetrated their nostrils, hinting of what may happen again, if they were not careful.
Armand smiled. Nepal could see he had a glow about him that was unmistakable. He felt it too. They had changed. They both knew it. They were different. They had shared more with one another than any to people on earth. Well, maybe not as much as the Oragwains, but they were designed that way.
Armand's cards began to lift from the floor and float up. They fell, but then picked themselves back up again and made their way to Armand's hands. "I can do this now," Armand's voice showed he was thrilled at the prospects.
Nepal used his mind to "see" the cards. All of them at once. He knew their order, their shapes and their number. "I can see things like you can."
Armand shook his head slowly, "I think you can see a lot more than I could, but you're right we can see things further away."
"You are a Psychinian?" Armand asked.
"That's what they tell me."
"You have had dreams of other places, and of aliens." Armand said.
"Yes, and now you've had them too."
Armand shook his head, "technically you've had the dreams, I just remember them."
Nepal smiled, and bent to kiss Armand.
They locked lips and touched each other's minds again. They held back, this time, and did not dive into one another.
"This guy Karden is in your head. I can sense him." Armand said.
"Yes, I sensed him a few times," Nepal explained. "He took something from
me."
"That means you can find him, and you can get to him," Armand said.
"Yes, I can sense him now. If I focus, I can pick things out that he is doing," Nepal knew he didn't have to explain, but Armand was understanding, and he knew that.
Their wetness was getting sticky and they both looked toward the locker room. Nepal knew it was time to take a quick shower. He sent a message out with his new control on telepathy, and asked for a change of clothes for the both of them.
For brevity, trying to avoid another long encounter with each other, they took separate shower stalls, and dressed quickly, but together.
People were dying and they had to help.
"Lesson's over," Armand said.
Cheshin joins the Yogan
"What's taking them so long?" Raymond asked.
Nita looked at him blankly.
"He is going to get away," he said impatient.
Nita raised her eyebrows, "what makes you so sure?"
Raymond didn't understand question. Was she testing him? She would only ask it if I were to under suspicion. She's right. I should be watched carefully. I may not be the right man for this assignment. Regardless, our mission cannot fail.
This time it was Raymond that reached out for Nita's hand. Her hand snatched his quickly.
Change of plans. They are keeping us in the dark. We do exactly as they say until we have the precise location of Karden. Our mission, otherwise, has not changed. We will have him, dead or alive. Keep your mind shielded. Then next time Karden attempts to seize control of our bodies, nausea may be the key to get him to release. We learned from Karden that he is afraid of being sick. If that fails, shut down all activity and maintain stasis for thirty seconds. He may loose interest quickly, and the distraction others bring will assist.
Maintain nausea through ALC and Q10 over production.
If contact is made, join and apply group stasis through induced dopamine depletion. Use nausea if Karden proves too difficult to join.
They released hands, and Raymond felt better about their mission.
Cheshin shimmered back into the room. "We will travel in with the local police force and a few other agencies. Will you have trouble getting through the crowds? We're not sure what will happened, but Karden will most likely sense us when we get there."
"You have no need to worry about us," Raymond said.
"Yes, we will be fine," Nita said in an almost pleasant tone.
Cheshin face went blank. "I was asked to join with you, if needed."
"What about Jueqel?" Raymond asked before he could stop himself.
"No need, now, but it may come to that," Nita snapped sharply.
"I'm taking us to a local fire station. Any objections?" Cheshin asked.
"None." Nita said it so quickly. Raymond knew he'd should not have mentioned Jueqel.
Cheshin put his hands on their shoulders and the world shimmered around them.
They stood in a yard, facing the backside of a fire station. We wait here.
"I will search the perimeter," Nita said as she took off. Her enhanced speed blinding to everyone, but Yogan.
Raymond waited for her return. Confident in his ability to complete this mission and get back to House Yogan. He needed cleansing. He needed it fast.
"So, you are attracted to Jueqel?" Cheshin asked bluntly.
"No," Raymond said quickly. Maybe too quickly.
"Sorry, you can't lie. I saw it happened."
"I am not allowed to have such feelings outside the Yogan."
"Too bad for you, huh?"
"What do you mean?" Raymond asked.
"You are restricted to loving only your own kind? What kind of life is that?"
"It's a wonderful life," Raymond defended. "House Yogan provides for everything. The physical and mental benefits of discipline and self control are beyond measure. You cannot know the extent of what I speak. You must take my word for it. The Yogan are perfect."
"I can know, if you show me." Cheshin offered.
"What do you mean?" Raymond asked, suspicious.
"Allow me to join with you. I would like to know of this perfectness of which you speak."
Raymond thought it might be a bad idea and said as much.
"I might even like to join the House Yogan afterward," Cheshin said.
It would be worth it to have an Oragwain in the Yogan fold. They could learn the art of teleportation. "But it would take too long for you to understand. You have to agree to a group join under different circumstances."
"I'm almost ready to join already. I just need a little push toward perfection."
"I'm not sure," Raymond said honestly.
"I know Jueqel would then become a very understanding person. I am good friends with him. He might be able to trust House Yogan if I were to join your house," Cheshin sounded very sincere.
Raymond felt something stir in himself at the mention of Jueqel. "He would be a valuable ally. House Yogan would benefit from House Thero. The could more fully cooperate." Am I thinking clearly? It's the right thing to do, isn't it? He kept asking himself that question.
Cheshin was nodding his head. "Do it now? or do you think there is no time left to try?"
Raymond wasn't sure if this was the best thing to do at the moment, but how often would there be a chance to get Jueqel on their side. This would present itself few, if only this time. "Join then," he agreed and stuck out his hand.
Cheshin grabbed his hand and the joining commenced. It was confusing at first. Raymond had a hard time maintaining control and seperation between the two consciousnesses they shared. The sharing got a little too deep, he thought, and then things cleared up.
We are the Yogan. Our physical statue is the attainment of perfection in maintaining absolute control. For happiness and harmony with all life and systems on Earth and ultimately the universe. Here is how I feel about the Yogan. Will you join us now?
Cheshin released Raymond's hand and drew in a deep breath. "Wow, that was incredible. I can see why you love the House Yogan. I wish I could join you. My bond with the Oragwains is strong, but you have brought be closer to the Yogans than I had ever imagined."
Raymond felt a little disoriented. "That didn't seem normal. I lost control for a second. Are you feeling any negative side effects from our join?"
"A little dizzy, but I'm really O.K." Cheshin waved it off.
Sirens blared and Nita came running back.
"We should go with the dark red Ambulance truck," Cheshin said. "Remember Karden will be waiting for us. We take the East Wing of the Hospital. Emergency Entrance."
"We go now," Nita demanded.
Jax help
Preparation for this was taking far too long, in Dru's opinion. He was beginning to think Jueqel's plan to go in first might have been a good bet. He realized it was folly to think that, so, he refocused his attention on Kefen.
"When do you think we should have a child?" Kefen asked.
"Perhaps soon," Dru answered. Kefen must have been thinking about this ever since he'd heard about the children being kidnapped.
"I'd like to try, now," Kefen said in a tone that hinted it was more of a question.
"Why now?" Dru asked.
Kefen didn't answer right away. Instead he looked out over the flat plains. Grassland as far as he could see.
"When did you find this place?" Dru asked.
"I didn't. Nepal had it in his head. I thought it would be secluded enough to talk," Kefen answered.
It was secluded. Traffic could be heard off in the distance, but it wasn't visible but for a tiny speck that might have been an semi truck hauling by. "So, let's talk. Why do you think we should have a child now?"
Kefen answered with a question, "do you think we're going to make it?"
Dru wasn't at all certain that everyone would make it through the day, but the Oragwains had the best chance of survival. "Yes, we'll all make it."
"We Oragwains," Kefen clarified.
Dru nodded softly.
"But Breyn almost didn't make it," Kefen explained. "If she had died, I don't think I could have lived with that. Her mothers were our best friends, our companions."
Dru felt the waves of empathic energy washing out of Kefen. It was as if he was expecting doom, when Dru felt none.
"When will we be ready to raise a child?" Kefen asked defensively. "I think being ready is something that happens once the child has come." Kefen was serious.
Dru's choice to not parent until the clan needed another member was a valid choice. When emotion plays into decisions about choosing to have a child, it made for a variable he was not willing to easily concede to.
"We are about to go into a very dangerous place," Dru started.
"And anyone could get hurt, but I want us to have a child together," Kefen insisted. "Yours and mine."
Dru considered his options, and if this was going to be done. It was going to be done with the best interest of each. He dug deep into his own emotional reservoir and decided, "I want to carry a child to term."
Kefen looked surprised, but recovered quickly. "I will have a girl."
"And I will have a boy," Dru added. It felt almost like a game. They had not spoken of this for many years, but now that the decision was made, it felt right to do it now.
They embraced, and Kefen said, "we must do this quickly. We will be needed soon."
"Alright, a quickie it is," Dru said playfully.
Their shirts came off and their bellies pressed against one another. Dru could feel the chamber inside his navel and called it forward to push out a small gray mass. The navel opening widened for both of them, and the tantalizing tickle of anticipation was almost more than Dru could bare. "I forgot how good this felt," Dru said panting.
Kefen was also panting, "making babies is hard work, but a pleasurable work."
"Lucky, Oragwains are the only ones that can do it this way," Dru started to say.
But Kefen finished, "otherwise, there would be a population explosion. Humans wouldn't stop."
Kefen had been pushing his through, and the moment the masses touched, something went off in Dru's mind. It filled his mind with sensations reserved for the most intimate of moments. When two join as one and the pleasure is all consuming.
The
mass was looking for direction, and Dru directed it to finish the trip as a girl. Dru could feel his genes and those of Kefen's genes fold into place. Cell division had not commenced, but would soon start once inside Kefen. Another request from a mass had come to Dru. This one was from Kefen, and it had been directed to boyhood. Dru took it into himself to settle in the birthing chamber.
Shutter after shutter wracked Dru, and he could feel the same thing happening to Kefen. It seemed a non-stop ecstatic journey into parenthood. The mind-blowing orgasm that they shared had never been as powerful has it had been at that moment.
They sat on the grass. Dru smiled, "I'm pregnant."
"Me too," Kefen giggled.
They got up and put their shirts back on. Dru felt their bond was even stronger, now that they carried their children. Protectively, he was reluctant to go into battle against Karden.
Kefen said with a passion Dru had never heard from him before, "let's rid the world of creatures like Karden. Our children need a safe place to live."
Receiving an image of the destination, together, they shimmered to the gas station a few blocks from the Hospital. Police, and Psi-cops, were ready to move.
The Psi-cop staring at them had been concentrating, and visibly relaxed once they arrived. "I was keeping everyones eyes peeled away from seeing you come in. You guys should really be a little more discrete about using your abilities."
Kefen smiled, "that's why we have men like you to help us out."
That was apparently the wrong thing to say. The Psi-cop's grin dropped to a frown, "so, it's like that, huh? Well, I may not be the strongest Psi on the force, but I can hold my own."
Dru interrupted the Psi's tirade, "what is the status?"
The Psi-cop asked, "and you are?" Feathers ruffled, this bird was obviously attempting to be official.
"Dru and Kefen," Dru pointed to his partner.
"I'm Sargent Jax," the Psi said and turned to look down the street. He pointed to the building. "That place is a hotbed of psychic activity. Only we can't tell what's inside. We're being prevented from all sorts of psychic entry. The fire and police departments have begun to block off the streets. We're trying to keep the blanks away from any real danger. We hope they'll stay content with crowd control, but I have my doubts. A few agents from the Houses are heading in with the locals. After the Sieshin, Yogan, and Thero Houses got involved, every local resource in this town has been tapped. And I mean tapped. I've heard the military psi force is on standby. Don't know what's going on with them, but if they get involved, this is going to fall apart, and fast. Psi-cops are being called in from all over, but we're not the heavy hitters we used to be."
"I'm sorry you had to get involved," Kefen consoled. "I heard about one of your men running into Karden."
Jax whipped his head in surprise. "Karden?"
"You know him?" Dru asked.
"No, but we were not told his name."
Dru thought that was curious, "I wonder why?"
"If anyone of us knew a Karden, we might likely get the idea in our heads to find him ourselves," Jax explained. "I hear taking on this guy is dangerous to even his mother. Oh, look. Your ride is here. Come on. Let's get you a change of clothes."
Jax directed them to gas station's restroom and inside were pants and jackets of fireman's garb. Dru and Kefen looked at each other knowingly. Jax apparently got the inside joke and snorted, "guys, are you here to play or get the bad guy?"
Kefen actually flirted and said, "I'm ready for whatever you can dish out Jax."
You can't leave
"What am I?" Tony asked. "Mr. Shark?"
"Yes, Tony?" Kard answered.
"Am I a squid?" Tony asked.
"That's a good way to think of yourself," Kard was pleased. "We are in an ocean and we have to collect as many sea life creatures as we can. In this game we have to be strong." He projected mental images of fish and crabs and other cartoon like creatures.
"Like a real video adventure!" Tony was excited.
"Yes, now use your tentacles to captures fishes, and follow your sister."
"Say, where are you, Mr. Shark?"
"The fishes are getting away, better hurry."
"But..."
Kard reached out with his tendrils and found the boy. He reached inside the boys mind and forced the illusion of a sea adventure. "That's my boy." The boy needed lessons, and it never hurt to make those lessons into a game.
Feeling weak, psychic tendrils sprang from Kard and found a banquet. He was not feeling all that strong, yet, and his hunger was far greater then he had ever been. He needed these people's strength. They could give him that much, at least, but what he wanted most of all was that guy. That guy at the other hospital. He was good. Or maybe that girl from the highway. She wasn't as filling, but just as tasty.
General pandemonium kept people running in all directions. Kard tried to leave the helpful ones alone for a little while. They brought a little order to the event.
Getting down from the gurney was difficult, and the dizziness nearly toppled his small girl's frame.
Someone of strength came at him. Kard had missed this one. Tall red hair, her bright colored clothes were distracting enough, but this woman was shaking bones at him. She was projecting something, and when it hit him, he drew it into himself. It was a joy to drink of such power. He absorbed everything she had, but she was soon spent. His body felt stronger, and he experimented with it by letting go of the gurney.
He didn't fall. That was good. He turned slowly around, surveying his surroundings. The floor had bodies laying about here and there, but it was not like before. There needed to be more bodies this time. "There are enough people here, and I think more are coming." He received a message, and tried to trace it back to its source, but it was gone as quickly as it came.
"Where?" was the question it had asked. Kard knew someone else was hunting him, but this time he had backup. The children were here. His children. Though, it was difficult say the girl was here.
Sand kicked up into his face. The other children were laughing at him. His hair had been cut too short, and they all knew it. They were going to pick on him until his mother came. But these children were colorless. They jeered at him, but it occurred to Kard that they would go away if he just thought about it.
"NO!" that little girl yelled. "You have to fight me," she said as she kicked more sand into his face.
The sand stung his eyes, and he wanted to cry. He turned away to run, and hit the hospital floor. "What is happening to me?" He asked aloud.
A nurse helped him to his feet and asked, "are you alright little girl?"
Kard found the male nurse attractive. Something about his full lips made him want to kiss them. Did he have a 5'oclock shadow? No, but why did I think that?
Kard shook off the feeling and plunged tendrils into the man, draining him of all life. The nurse's expressions changed rapidly and an almost pleasurable looked flashed on his face. At that moment he could smell the man. No, he could smell men, sensuous and overwhelming.
Then he was on the sand again. The little girl was kicking him.
"You leave me alone," she screamed. She pulled back for one hell of a kick.
Kard reeled back from the kick, cringed and waited for the pain, only to find himself clutching the gurney.
"This has got to stop!" Kard yelled with his little girl's voice.
The nurse's body slumped and knocked over the gurney.
Kard released it as soon as he discovered that holding on to it would take his small body with it.
"Fine," he resolved to fix this situation. His tendrils reached for victim after victim. Draining as fast as he could. No matter how much he drained, it wasn't enough. His hunger only grew. After feeding on 5 at once, his efforts paid off, temporarily. He felt stronger, and managed to get into a wheelchair.
Tony came up beside him and said, "hi, Kelly."
"Hi, Tony," Kard felt a little awkward pretending to be Kelly. "How many fishes have you caught?"
"A lot," Tony said and ran down the hall. He found some stairs and went down.
Kard felt the presence of a strong pair sitting outside. His tendrils grabbed for them, but he only caressed them lightly. The younger of the two on the bench started chanting some words. "Why, he's casting a spell," Kard spoke with Kelly's voice. It still sounded funny to his ears.
He sent thought to Tony, beckoning him to come and learn a lesson about magic.
After the lesson, Kard felt it important to teach Tony more, but he didn't want to be Tony's sister anymore.
Though he was still standing in the sand box, Kard was facing away from the playground. Something was nagging at him to turn around, he did. Before he could react to the little girl on a swing coming at him on a direct course, the little girl's feet came crashing into him, unable to dodge her.
"You can't leave," was all he heard from her before he found himself back in the wheelchair.
He was thirsty, and getting weak again. He sent out tendril to find more life and killed another one. He used his tendrils to move the wheelchair to an open restroom and there he saw Kelly's reflection in the mirror. She looked pale as a ghost, sickly, and possessed.
Another tendril sought out more life and when if found three in a car trying to drive away, he drained them at once. The mirror showed color come back into Kelly's face. She looked healthier and stronger. "I'll be damned," he said, with her lips moving in the mirror. "Am I killing my little girl?"
Kard felt depression set in like a brick. He was back at the sandbox. The little girl and her friends were kicking and beating on him. He had no where to go, but he climbed up the latter and found he could avoid most of their blows if he just stayed up in the small loft on the climber.
After a while the Kard decided it might be safe to come out. He was wrong, because the
other kids were hiding under the climber and pounced on him once he touched down on the sand.
Kard ran away and found a dark place behind the trees and bushes. He would hide there until the bad kids went away. Kard was so scared, he fell asleep.
Cold as ice
Dru and Kefen hopped off the truck, and took off into circle their entrance. Death was in the air. It made Dru sick to think about all the damage one evil human could cause. The rest of these people would need theropy for the rest of their lives. "If the military are on standby, we have to make this quick and clean. It looks like it might already be too late."
They ran into the building and at once felt a strong emotion. It was excitement. This guy was having the time of his life, at the expense of all these people.
Dru's anger must have flared out, because someone grabbed his arm. "No," Kefen said. "Not now."
They headed for the stairs, but before they got there a boy walked into view. His eyes were blazing blue white, and dark lines of living psychic energy were coming from him. Dru started to reach out for Kefen, but it was too late. The boy had them.
They boy grinned cold as ice. The world got dimmer as Dru's life force began to fade. Kefen cried out "Dru!"
He thought of their children and how much would be lost. It was a mistake to try to have a child now. What if we die, then it would have all been for nothing. The coldness ate at him. Taking him down. He tried to fight it, but it was difficult to focus on anything. He stayed within himself and tried to find a place to block the force that was taking everything away from him.
Dru could feel someone else's presence, but it was so faint, it was hard to tell who's it was.
A burst of pain, not his own, shot through his psyche. His temples throbbed briefly before it was stopped by the pain of hitting the floor.
He turned his head to see Nita coming down the stairs. Raymond had the boy in his arms, cradled protectively. Nita reached for the boy, but someone was telling her to stop.
Kelly is that you
Nepal said, "I'm not sure what's happening, but I get the impression someone's life is about to expire. Karden is feeling very parental, and it's all a jumble. It's getting really bad."
Armand didn't say anything, but looked considering.
"Something is going terribly wrong," Nepal was becoming increasingly alarmed.
"Would you like to try to teleport?" Armand asked.
"How?"
"Well, we just do like they did. You were linked with them. You got a good impression of how it was done."
Nepal considered, "they used remote viewing first."
"Then let's try that. We'll try to reach Karden."
"No not Karden. The hospital room he was in, because I don't think he's there anymore. I don't want to be in his line of sight," Nepal said.
They held hands and focused on their target. It was no time at all before a clear image of the hospital came into view. They could see a lifeline coming from a man. They looked closely and found it was Karden showing the boy a game of taking life. The pain coming from that man was intense. It was unbearable. They redoubled their efforts and tried to explain to the boy, Tony, that that he was hurting the man.
The message didn't get through. Tony heard something, but it wasn't enough.
Nepal said, "I just got the distinct feeling of hiding in the bushes."
They used the remote viewing to try and find Karden. Their efforts went unrewarded. Nepal was no longer able to sense Karden's presence. "He's gone."
"What do you mean?" Armand asked.
"I can't feel him anywhere."
"Can we find the girl?"
Nepal thought they could and they renewed their search.
The Yogan, Nita, was on the second floor searching quickly. She stopped and stared at Nepal and Armand, as if she could actually see them.
A little girl was on the floor, and she knelt down to touch her on the forehead. Nita was surprisingly gentle with the girl. Recognition shown on Nita's face and she took off toward the stairs.
Nepal hardly recognized the girl as Kelly, but it was her.
"Let's try to teleport," Armand suggested.
"Alright, we just have to know that we are there."
The world shimmered around them and they were at the hospital.
"It worked!" Nepal said. The world seemed threated with silver lines. So many, in fact, it was distracting.
The world spun and the next thing he knew he was in Armand's arms.
Cradle
Raymond, Nita, and Cheshin bolted out of the Ambulance and ran to the building's emergency entrance. There were to men laying next to a bench. Raymond believe they were dead.
Nita ordered, "flank him."
Raymond called his inner strength and increased his speed. The world moved in slow motion as he went inside the building. Nita was faster, but not by much.
"Raymond? Can you hear me?" asked Cheshin.
"You're thoughts are clear," Raymond answered. Puzzled it was so easy to break through. "How are you communicating with me?"
"When we joined, I left a back door."
That wasn't right, and he let Cheshin know as much.
"Sorry, but under the circumstances, I didn't want to leave anything to chance," Cheshin explained.
"I'm sort of busy right now."
"I can help. I'll help you find Karden. I sense the him close to the other side of the building. He has swapped bodies with a child. We don't want the child killed."
Killed? "We have no intention of killing anyone," Raymond stopped short, not want to say how far they would go. "I think I see him." Raymond put up his mental shield. He didn't want anyone reaching into his mind right now. Not Karden nor Cheshin.
The last thought sent from Cheshin was a question, "him?"
Raymond moved with blinding speed to take the child by surprise. Two men were stading down the hall frozen and in pain. It looked as the two were Oragwains.
The child must have seen him. "But too late," Raymond said as he crashed into the child. Before actually hitting the child, Raymond had felt an icy tingle that was similar to what he had felt on his first encounter with Karden.
To keep from hurting the boy, Raymond used his body to shield the child's fall to the ground and they slid into the wall together.
I'm not coming back
Traffic stopped and the squad car wasn't getting them anywhere. "We'll get out here," Jueqel said to the officer driving.
"We can walk the rest of the way," Etten agreed.
They started running as soon as they managed to squeeze out of the vehicle, but were stopped by other motorists doing the same. Jueqel found a clear path through he median, because it had fewer cars trying to scramble away. Most of the attempts at using the median ended in cars and trucks scraping their cars on the lip of the curb that was so high, it was a wonder any of them made it at as far as they did. On van busted its headlight on the way up and left itself tires spinning.
Etten began to say, "We could get there..."
But he was cut off by Jueqel's instance they keep moving on foot. "Using any psychic abilities might draw him to us. We don't want this guy getting a hold on anyone of us."
The Hospital was about a hundred yards away. Jueqel could see the psychic energy pulsing from the place. He could also see an ambulance and fire truck had juat made it to the scene.
Disappointed, he wanted to be there first, feeling sure he could have stopped the Karden. "Let's go," he urged Etten.
They ran faster, dodging people and cars and even hitting a few along the way. They reached the entrance and knew things had already gone wrong. "Etten, change of plans. Find the girl by whatever means necessary."
Jueqel was desperate to find her. He ran saying, "keep in contract with me."
It wasn't long before he saw Nita reaching down to a place her hand on a boy that was being cradled by Raymond. "No!" Jueqel yelled out.
Nita did not stop. Dru and Kefen were getting up from the floor, and Raymond looked up to see him. There was something in his eyes. He couldn't tell what the message was he was supposed to get.
Desperate to stop Nita, Jueqel focused his thoughts upon her and canceled her psychic abilities. "I said stop."
Nita's touched the boys face in a desperate attempt to join with him. She was confused about why her ability was not working, "I said, stop."
Nita finally looked up. It must have dawned on her what Jueqel had done, and she leaped after him. Her speed normal as any other human. Raymond seized her wrist, and shook his head no.
She said, "the House will hear of this."
"Yes, Nita. But I don't think I'll be coming back to the Green House," Raymond said.
Lofty living
"I love this place," Kelly pranced around in her web-crawler outfit. She pretended spider silk would shoot from her wrist and wrap around a potted plant. When she tugged, it would sit there, unmoving. "I got you!"
Nepal and Armand found this loft at a reasonable rate. It was big enough for the three of them, and it was close conveniences found only in the city. Armand could get to his performances in no time using the modern transportation that blanks use.
They were watching their web-girl as she explored the immense space they would all share for at least 6 months, when the lease runs out. After that, they would see.
"Will my brother come to live with us?" Kelly asked.
"Not right away," Nepal answered.
"And then only if you guys really want to," Armand added.
"We planned to visit him this afternoon." Nepal asked, "would you like that?"
Kelly jumped into the air and pretended to land cat-like on the floor. She feigned disinterest in visiting her brother, "I guess," but her agitated movements gave her away. Excitement lay just underneath her composure.
"Thought so," Armand said, joining in on the fun.
Kelly wheeled around twice and stopped in her spider web shooting stance. "Bam!" She let her web fly and pulled. This time the potted plant moved toward her. Not much, but it was there.
She screamed in surprise. Her hands flapping back and forth like she was trying
to throw off the feeling.
Nepal ran over to her, "Kelly, it's alright. Don't be scared."
She was shaking in his arms. Sobbing tears heated up her face.
At first, Kelly seemed to like her new abilities, but increasingly she found them harder to deal with. Nepal and Armand noted that more often than not, her abilities took her by surprise and scared her.
"You just have to learn to control it," he told her.
"We'll take you to a special school that will help teach you how to not be afraid of your ability," Armand said.
Kelly was shaking her head, "I don't want to learn."
"Oh, honey, if you want it to stop, you have to learn to make it stop," Armand said gently.
"That's right, you have to learn to make it stop," Nepal agreed.
"I'm scared," she said.
Nepal could see the silver threads that lined her eyes, and for a second, he sensed something strong stirring within her. "Kelly, are you feeling more than just scared? Are you having any bad dreams or feeling sick?"
She looked scared, and simply nodded.
"Are you having a dream right now?"
She nodded again.
Another flash of power from within Kelly jumped to the surface. This time Nepal recognized the power. It was Karden. "Let's get you to Uncle Jueqel," he tried to sound like a caring parent, and he hoped his fear did not show.
Armand, however, did notice the alarm in Nepal's voice. Nepal sent out his thoughts to Jueqel, and let him know they were coming.
Armand grabbed a few belongings and came over and gave them a group hug. "Let's go."
The room shimmered, but they didn't go anywhere. Nepal looked to Kelly, and her face was scrunched up. She was concentrating. "Oh, dear. Don't be scared. Let's get going. We need help."
Kelly relaxed and the next shimmer landed them in the gym at the Red House.
Cover it up
"Tony!" Jueqel yelled out from the study.
"Yes, Uncle?" Tony yelled back. Seconds later Tony came running into the study, panting and out of breath.
"What did I tell you about that?"
"I know," Tony grinned.
"Never call..." Jueqel began.
Tony finished, "you Uncle."
Jueqel's face messed up in mock disgust. "Alright smarty." Jueqel actually like to be called uncle. Tony was a special boy, and he needed a family. But the 'Don't-call-me-uncle' was an on going game they enjoyed. "How are your lessons? Don't lie, cause I'll know."
"Yeah, I know you know. They're great," Tony said excited. "Sherry says I'm her best student, ever."
Jueqel decided he would not tell Tony he was her only student, ever. "That's fantastic. Guess what?"
"What?" Tony asked.
"Your sister is coming over for a visit."
Tony's face lit up and he was all a big grin.
Raymond entered the doorway quietly and leaned against it. He too had a smile on his face. "You'll be late for my class, Tony."
Surprise popped Tony around to see his instructor. He whipped around the other direction and jumped a chair. "Sorry, Uncle Ray," he said and ran out of the room. Raymond feigned a slap on the boy's head, but it was easily dodged. Down the hall he yelled back, "now, you'll be late for class." Tony laughed, and then he was out of sight.
Jueqel like that, too. "He calls you Uncle Ray."
"Yeah, well, the kid grows on you," Raymond admitted.
"How you doing?" Jueqel asked.
"Honey, I'm doing much better," Raymond walked up to the desk and leaned across it. "Now that I have you in my sights," he said playful.
"I'm working," Jueqel tried to defend himself, but it was too late. The trap was sprung, and all he could do was lean forward and plant a kiss.
Raymond pulled a way, too quickly. "He's right. I have to get to class. I'll get back to you on what we were just discussing."
"Are you teasing me?" Jueqel asked.
"Maybe, you'll find out later." Raymond was being very playful.
Jueqel threatened, "I can shut you down, Mr."
"Sorry, you can't shut this down," Raymond retorted. "Don't get me worked up. I have a day to finish here."
Jueqel picked up a pad and attempted to hit Raymond on his way out of the office. It missed by a long shot, "but it's the thought that counts," he mutter to himself.
Getting back to his notes, Jueqel mulled over the fact that they were unable to find Karden. He moved to the girl and then jumped into the boy, and then just vanished. He was like some kind of parasite. The girl made it out, a little shaken, but doing a lot better than they had expected. She could have died. There was no trace of Karden in the girl, and Karden didn't show up in the boy either. Other than the changes to their brains. Thought, that is more significant. If someone can alter a persons mind to tap into the psychic potential, it's unthinkable what might happen.
Nepal no longer sensed Karden's presence, and that was at least a good sign that he was gone. Keeping the children close was the best way to watch for signs of Karden's influence. The kids still needed needed to process, grieve, and rebuild a life for themselves.
Kelly showed some promise in psychic ability, though, not near as strong as her little brother. Karden really did a number on that little boy.
Jueqel flipped some pages and glanced at his report. Remembering the military psi were on the outskirts of the city. If they had come in, the situation would have been grave for everyone. "The military love their devices," he wrote in the margins.
It took a couple weeks to clean up the mess made of that town. Agents were still scanning the area for people that had been impacted by this fiasco. Memory adjusting was hard enough on a small crowd. It would take a year at the very least to fix everything. The hard part was the loved ones of those that died. Getting them through all this, setting up dummy corporations and fake identities. The funds for the law suits had to be ready for all the court cases that would be won. You couldn't just erase the minds of every life that was touched by this tragedy. It was hard to imagine how anyone could cover up something so big, but it was going to be done.
Jueqel felt a message come to his mind. "Kelly is in trouble. It's Karden. We're coming."
Jueqel's heart sank. The moment he had dreaded. Jueqel put out a message of his own. The Oragwains were needed once again.
My sand too
Kard watched from the bushes. The children played games all the time. He was afraid they would hurt him. That girl was the meanest of them all. She was their leader. They always did whatever she said.
Every once in a while, Kard got brave and stuck his head out of the brush, but fear would grip him and he'd go back in to hide.
Also, there were other big kids that would come to the park. They had come a few times, and they were much bigger kids than the mean little girl. They pushed the other children around, but never hurt them. Kard was even more afraid of those kids, cause the little girl never did anything to stop them. If she couldn't stop them, then they would surely beat up someone like Kard.
As it has happened, a few times Kard got brave enough to venture into the sandbox. He snuck in there while the girl was playing. She would do something amazing like triple back flips and run up a pole and twist off like some amazing acrobat from the circus, but she would get mad and scared right afterward.
Kard wanted to avoid her the most when she was upset. He didn't know what she would do if she ever found him.
Then, it came to him that he should try to make friends with her. Or maybe someway get to her that it was time for him to play in the sandbox. He was bigger than she was. He waited for the right time. She was playing. He crept into the playground sand and waited for her to do her amazing tricks. She jumped through each swing and looped herself up and over the swing. She landed with her hands raised like an Olympic gymnast.
Instead of running this time, he stayed. She was scared. He could tell. He felt brave enough to face her. Now was his chance to show the bully that she didn't have to hog the sandbox.
She came over to him, and he stood up to her. She was scared alright, but that didn't stop her from pushing him down.
Kard ran back to the bushes as fast as he could. Once he got there, he saw that the girl was crying. So, he went back to the sandbox to find out why. He wanted to play, and she was just a crybaby, and it made no sense to keep him from playing in the sandbox with all the other kids. He could be her friend. He knew he could. She just had to give him a chance.
Waiting at the door
Nepal's psychic strength had increased over the few weeks since the hospital incidents. He could delve deep into the minds of others, teleport, and move objects with his mind. He could even see the silver cords that connected people in ways unimagined by him. For all his strength, he felt helpless in the face of this little girl's plight. "I hated no knowing where Karden might show up. He was with us all along," he explained to Armand.
"You could not have known. He only had a few clues. We don't even know what Karden is anymore," Armand counseled.
"That is absolutly right, Armand," Jueqel said while he walked to the center of the gym. "Bring her over here."
"Right," Nepal helped her up over to sit on a center mat.
"Etten and Dru should be here any moment now," Jueqel said.
As if on cue, the two Oragwains arrived.
"How's our Kelly doing?" Etten asked.
Nepal noticed Dru had put on a couple kilos, and almost said something about it. What stopped him was the silver within silver he saw in Dru's stomach, as if something living was growing inside him. Is he pregnant? Nepal decided to ask him later. Asking Jueqel might even be more polite.
"Fine," Kelly said, but she didn't sound fine. She sounded scared, but at least she showed signs that she was glad to see them. Moving to wave at Etten and even crunching her hand open and closed to throw him hugs.
Now, that he looked at her, she was paler than she had been at the loft.
Jueqel noticed, too.
There was another
shimmer into the room. It was Breyn. "I've come to help. I want a piece of this guy," she said and rushed over to Kelly. They hugged briefly, "Kelly, how you doing, baby? We'll get this guy."
"Hi Aunti Brains," Kelly said with more cheer.
Dru started to say, "I'm not sure..."
But Breyn cut him off with, "I'm not sure you'll be able to pull this off without me. I know his tricks. He almost had me. I will not let him take my favorite niece."
Dru raised his hands in defense to ward off her tongue lashing. "As long as it's fine with Kelly."
Kelly nodded emphatically.
Breyn told Kelly, "we gals have got to stick together."
Jueqel started to say, "Gal..." But stopped with a look from Breyn.
Raymond came into the gym followed by Sherry, and then Tony.
"Sherry, I'd like you to take Tony and wait until we are through," Jueqel asked. "Let me know if any dangers that may come."
"That's why I'm here," Sherry said. "We've been shut down of all premonitions. I can't get any future. It's all coming up blanks."
Tony ran to his sister, "Kelly," he said softly to her as they hugged. Kelly started to cry, and when her brother felt the tears on her cheeks his eyes welled up, filled with wetness.
Kelly choked her voice and cleared her throat. "Can you wait outside for me?" She asked.
"No, Kelly. I want to be here with you," Tony pleaded.
Sherry bent down to give them both a hug. "Tony, you and I will wait outside. We don't want to get in their way," Sherry explained.
"No, no, Kelly," Tony protested.
"Will you be my big brother for a little while?" Kelly asked. "Can you do that for me?"
His tears flowed as much as hers by now. He'd wiped them away but more came. His red nose and swollen eyes still defiant. She looked at him in a way that communicated a warmth siblings shared. Something between a big sister and her little brother that was beyond words. That was enough to convince him to wait outside. Tony got up and ran to the door and waited just at the entrance, not wanting to give an inch, even when they closed the door.
Kelly convulsed, and went pale white. Raymond bent down to touch her forehead. He did something, Nepal couldn't tell what, but psychic energy flowed from him like a flamethrower. Color came back into her cheeks. Not perfect, but better.
"I think we'd better do this," Raymond recommended.
Final ambush
The playground was dark and foreboding. The climber and swings had lost nearly all their coloring. The monkey bars looked fragile. The children lacked enthusiasm. They huddled together to keep warm. It was not cold in this place, but the kids were shivering.
Nepal could see his friends had arrived with him. Breyn, Etten, Jueqel, Dru, and Raymond started to explore, but Nepal stopped them. "Karden is near."
The kids dropped away from one another like petals of a rose, and Karden rose up from the center. "This is my sandbox," he warned. "I'm boss around here, now."
Kelly was one of the children on the ground, and she was looking up at Karden with a fear stricken face.
Breyn plowed toward him. She got close enough to hit him once, but Karden swatted her away with lightning speed. "Kelly," Breyn cried out. "Get up, sweety."
Karden swung his legs around and kicked Breyn upside her temple. She went flying back to where her friends stood. "Yes, Kelly," Karden menaced. "Get up, now."
Kelly obeyed. The sandbox lost a little color.
"Now, Kelly, we don't like these intruders. It's our playground. It's our sandbox. We rule here," Karden demanded.
Kelly put up her dukes, ready to fight. Again the playground lost color and the monkey bars gave in and collapsed.
Jueqel circled to the right and Raymond circled to the left. Karden followed the motion of Jueqel, while Kelly followed Raymond. Dru stepped forward and acted as if he would tackle Kelly. When she turned to face him, Raymond grabbed her.
Karden had also shifted his gaze to see what Dru was doing, and left an opening for Jueqel to make his move. He grabbed Karden by the wrists.
Suddenly the world went silver and Nepal thought he might be blinded. No time had passed when his sight returned, but the world he found himself in was changed. He could see Jueqel, still holding Karden, and Raymond had Kelly, but their threads of silver held more significance to his sight.
Jueqel was pulsing with a darker translucent silver that pushed down Karden's thread, and it made them dimmer. Nepal knew Jueqel was trying to cancel out Karden. Removed him completely.
Raymond was there holding on to the struggling Kelly. His bright silver pulse was giving life energy to Kelly's dieing body. A little color returned to her and to the playground. The monkey bars had started to rebuild themselves and the sun gathered strength to come out.
It didn't last long, however. Karden wasn't getting any weaker.
Dru ran up with a martial a kick that hit Karden in the back. Dru's leg appeared to get stuck momentarily before he hit the ground. Karden then grabbed Jueqel by the neck. He pulled him close to his lips and kissed deeply. Jueqel released and slumped to the sand.
Nepal had seen the life force drain from each attack as they hit Karden. Even Raymond's life giving ability was being used by this monster.
Breyn got up from the ground, and readied herself to make another attack, but Nepal put a hand on her. "Get the others out of here. He's feeding on all of us."
"I won't let him have her," she said, fury was about to explode within her.
"If you attack, he will be able to kill her. This is her mind. We have to let her fight it. We can be her backup," Nepal hoped he knew what he was doing. "Now, get everyone out of here."
Nepal walked over and between Karden and Kelly. He didn't think it would sever their link, but he had to try. Once there his grabbed Dru's hand and flung drew back to the spot where they had entered the sandbox. Next, he flung Jueqel to the same location. "Get them out of here," he yelled to Breyn.
"Raymond, you have to go," Nepal demanded.
Raymond stood there holding Kelly, "I can't. She needs this. I can keep her alive."
A hand gripped around Nepal's neck. Its cold icy grip was familiar enough to bring back his first memories of their encounters. How the monster cam down the stairs and attacked him with crawling bits that froze as they tore into his flesh. Then Cheshin came, looking sickly. "Looking sickly," Nepal said.
"What?" Ramond asked. "She's doing better, I think."
"No, Raymond. Make her sick to her stomach."
Raymond shook his head no. "What?" He asked, clearly not understanding.
The hand around Nepal's throat tightened and it made it hard to breath. He tried to explain to Raymond with, but it was no use. Karden's grip was too tight. He couldn't breath. Why was there so little air?
The lines of shinny gray tendrils appeared before before Nepal. He could see they were the tendrils of Karden. "That's how he imagines his abilities. As tendrils." They penetrated into Nepal. They were icy, but not as much now. They had a warmth to them that spoke of pain and hunger, and a longing for family.
"Karden, I'll be your family," Nepal said, trying to appeal to the monster.
The pressure let up, and for an instant, Karden stopped his assault.
"Give Kelly an upset stomach, NOW!" Nepal shouted with such force, he felt Karden take a step back.
Nepal turned to face Karden and found he had gone pale. His strength was diminishing.
Karden turned and ran to the edge of the sandbox. He fell at the edge and climbed over the board that kept the sand in its place. He took off in a sprint toward the small grove of trees.
"Not this time," Nepal said. He was tired of this monster, and was ready to take him out.
Nepal reached the edge and had to put a lot of effort into jumping out of the playground. He found Karden huddled in and hiding behind a bush and under a tree. "Nice hiding place," Nepal told him.
Karden screamed and ran toward Nepal. Arms reached and groped for Nepal's neck, but it was no use. Karden was too weak.
Nepal found this silver cords that lead from Karden to the gray grassy earth below him. "Karden, you are a monster. And monster don't exist anymore." Nepal pulled on the silver cord. It snapped away with an echoing crack.
Karden breathed heavily and groped for air. Nepal carried him to the sandbox. Kelly looked better and the other children were up as well. Raymond looked worn out.
"I'm taking this thing with me," Nepal said when Raymond looked at Karden.
Raymond nodded, and they left Kelly's mind, taking the monster with them.

END

SCENES LIST
Kard on the roof
Nepal wakes
Flush it again
Jueqel feels a mind quake
Oragwains
Somebody's watching
Nepal calls the police
A meeting at Thero house
Nepal meets Kard
You taste good
Cheshin's Viewing
Suppress
Surreal introductions
A feast interrupted
Jump into the storm
Kefen recovers
Snake in the jungle
Silver cords
Talk about
Cheshin exhausted
Kard leaves the hospital
Nepal awakens
Jueqel meets Yogan
Dream well, Nepal
Nepal's lineage
Ditch
When do we start
First ambush
A Psi-cop encounter
Rest Stop ahead
First lesson
A different Cheshin
More dreams, Nepal
Borrowed talents
A new trick
Shared strength
Children laughing
Quality time together
Laughing on the inside
More than hurt
Brief
Baggage
Lines of thread
Hugs
Speed bag and dumbbell
What we know of Psychinians
Don't worry
Coldness deep inside
Psychic Blanks
Cheshin readies the Yogans
Plan of action
Kelly's birthday
Welcome to the family
Part of the game
Amateur
Final lesson
Cheshin joins the Yogan
Jax help
You can't leave
Cold as ice
Kelly is that you
Cradle
I'm not coming back
Lofty living
Cover it up
My sand too
Waiting at the door
Final ambush

Labels: adult, explicit, fantasy, gay, modern, nanowrimo, novel, psychic, sci-fi, sexual