by Lynne Murray
“Maybe. If the Mindworm takes a form it picked up from your memory. The idea that creatures can read your mind may have originated with aliens like the Harvesters who can plant delusions. But Mindworms use it as their primary weapon. They actually absorb the kind of power and emotion you radiate like seagulls flocking to a loaf of bread. So the odds are that even the one I told to stay away will come back. They’re literally hungry.”
“The man I killed at work wasn’t physically attacking me, just humiliating me and threatening to fire me.”
“You feel like you shouldn’t have killed him. Just guessing.”
“That would be an accurate guess. I spent my childhood trying not to kill people.”
“What about the Harvesters in Pacifica, Vole back on the Station and the Rutban last night?”
“They were trying to kill us, or in Vole’s case to kidnap me, so it felt like self-defense. Also—” I felt a little embarrassed. “The Harvester looked like a big bug. I don’t mean to be prejudiced against other species. But I didn’t even know Harvesters existed last week.”
Wade chuckled. “I think your priorities are good. First, concentrate on staying alive. Then we’ll work on peaceful co-existence.”
“Anyway, it seems like it’s getting easier to—you know. I’m kind of scared of killing again.”
“Have you ever killed anyone you cared about?”
“I don’t know. I can’t remember.”
Wade’s phone rang. “It’s Kirby,” he said. “I just warned a Mindworm off of Angie’s front steps. Yeah, I agree, there could be more. I’ll ask her.” He looked up and met my eyes. “Would you mind if I stayed here with you for a while till we’re sure you’re safe?”
I nodded, “It’s okay.”
“We’ll do that then. I’ll keep you posted.” He listened for a moment then hung up.
Confused, I said nothing.
“I’ll stay on the sofa of course. No mating frenzies, I promise.”
I laughed but I felt my face get warm. “Fair enough.” I wanted to offer him my grandfather’s bedroom, but we hadn’t used it since he died and I was oddly anxious about even going in there.
“Have you eaten? We could order pizza or something. If the delivery person looks like Carroll Caine, I’ll tag him.”
The minute he said it, I realized how hungry I was. The delivery man didn’t look like Caine or an undisguised Mindworm, which set my mind at ease.
After we demolished the pizza, I brewed some tea and we sat down across the kitchen table.
Wade took a couple of flat black squares out of his jacket pocket. They had a handshake grip molded along one side. “This is a tagger. Hold out your hand.” He pressed one of them into my palm and I instinctively closed my fingers around it. It looked like a cross between a taser and a staple gun. “It's Guardian tech, an individual version of a mass tranquilizing system they have for infestations of Mindworms and similar parasites. This is the idiot proof human version.”
“Good to hear.” My tone made it clear I wasn’t really offended.
“Here’s where you press it to fire. For safety’s sake don’t aim it at me. This weapon is non-lethal, but I really don’t want to be a test case.”
I carefully pointed the business end away from Wade. “Is there a safety of some kind on this?”
“No, it’s ready to fire, but as you can see, the control button is slightly recessed, so you have to actively press it to get it to fire. I treat every weapon with respect and I’m glad to see you do too.”
“Thank you.” I set the tagger down. “How close do I have to get to use the weapon?” I asked.
Wade raised an eyebrow. “Good question. The range is similar to a 9 millimeter in a crisis, 25 yards to point blank to defend yourself with one important difference. Unlike a handgun, a tagger is specifically programmed to seek out any Mindworm you aim it at. A stray bullet can damage an innocent bystander, but a tagger won’t touch them. Getting caught stalking Earth citizens automatically cancels a Mindworm’s permission to stay on Earth. So if they show up, we will tag them, tranquilize them and package them for transport.”
He sat back in his chair. “You must have had some training back before your memory was blocked.”
“I get flashes of that sometimes, but nothing that ties it all together.” It felt unexpectedly comforting to say that to Wade.
“Those black dots you see, do you think tell you when someone is about to attack.”
That idea surprised me. “Maybe. The first time I remember seeing them is when Caine was yelling at me. But I saw them whirling around my co-worker Francine and she was just sitting there enjoying seeing Caine yelling at me. I just don’t know.”
“Those black dots helped you read the grasshopper’s hostile intent before he pulled out his weapon?”
“Sort of. I don’t know if it was conscious but I could feel he meant to kill us and I reacted instinctively.”
“And the same thing with Vole and the Rutbans. Maybe we can reverse engineer this to find a way to control it.”
I nodded, unsure of what to say.
“I’ve trained on extraterrestrial weapons so advanced that Earth police and even military would fall over themselves to get them,” Wade said. “But I got six months of instruction before I went out with Kirby to visit abductees. You went out less than a week after you joined up and you ended up protecting me that day.”
“Well, it wasn’t that simple,” I said, my heart sinking.
“Kirby’s right. You’re a weapon, but you’re also a girl.”
“Um, a woman...but yes, that’s true.”
“No offense. We need to find out how we can work together. No one here seems to know how to explore this gift of yours. The so-called training with Vole was a disaster. Until we know what you do and you know how to do it, we can’t protect you.”
It comforting to have someone to talk to after six months of silence since my aunt disappeared.
Soon afterward I got blankets and pillows to make up the sofa for Wade to sleep on. I half-heartedly offered my aunt’s room, but he pulled up an armchair to the end of the sofa to accommodate his long legs and I was too tired and uncertain to argue.
Chapter 21
A frenzy of soft knocks against the front door as I got dressed the next morning. The tagger sat on my bedside table. I put it in my pocket and reluctantly headed toward the door. Every step down the hall the pressure in my head swelled as if someone or something was squeezing my forehead. I reached up a trembling hand to open the door to the peephole. Several versions of Carroll Caine scrabbled at the door and at each other to get to it. I slammed the metal door shut.
“Wade!” I called out. “We’re under siege.”
I put on my glasses and slowly opened the small metal door again. The Caine disguise had vanished, replaced by the stick-figure thin creatures about five feet tall with bulbous noses and round, glazed eyes. They tapped on the door and I could feel them battering at my mind.
Wade pulled me back and stepped in front of me. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small sphere, then opened the door and tossed it into the crowd. A hiss sounded as Wade slammed the door shut.
What was that?”
“Fogger,” he said in a hurried tone. “It’s got a neurofilter that will shield that crowd from civilian view. Got your tagger?”
I held it up.
“Good. When we go out, focus on firing at them. You can hit them anywhere and they’ll literally fold up into their cocoon state. Stay behind me and don’t let anyone get around me. Let’s sing our battle song.” He started, ‘Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you.’”
I had to laugh but I joined in “Happy birthday, Mister Mindworm.”
He stepped out the door singing and firing at the front row of the swarm. The street was blanketed in fog, but the Mindworms were too close to miss. I aimed at the closest one. The tagger recoiled in my hand as a beam of energy shot out and made a solid thunking sound wh
en it connected the Mindworm. The creature collapsed like a pile of sticks. An opaque, gray substance oozed over to blanket the fallen Mindworm, until it looked like a bundle of firewood compacted into a roll.
I followed Wade into a fog so thick the trees across the street had vanished into it. His body shielded me as we walked. I felt foolish but concentrating on singing to keep the pressure off my mind. I tagged a couple of Mindworms that tried to dodge around Wade.
The gray cocoons piled up on the steps as we walked down. Wade carefully nudged them out of the way.
“Happy birthday.” Thunk. “To you.” Thunk. “Happy birthday Mr. Mindworm.” Thunk. Thunk.
I looked down the stairs to see a crowd of a dozen more Mindworms on the sidewalk, stepping over their fallen comrades to press forward and flow up the stairs.
A couple of neighbors walked past them on their way to the Fulton bus stop, stepping around the Mindworms and ignoring them as if they were other pedestrians
Brakes screeched as Kirby’s van slid to a halt at the bottom of the driveway. He and Hiromi jumped out and ran to meet us, which was good because more Mindworms were streaming up the sidewalk toward us.
Kirby and Hiromi joined us at the foot of the steps and began tagging the Mindworms with impressive speed. Then Grandmother emerged out of the fog that blanketed the street. She didn’t have any visible weapon. But the Mindworms saw her and a warning buzz spread among them. Instantly they began to disburse. Within a few minutes, all the remaining Mindworms had fled the scene.
Grandmother watched them go but didn’t pursue them. She ambled up the sidewalk to where Mindworms cocoons lay in scattered on the sidewalk and up the stairs.
Kirby held up a hand. “Sorry, I can’t let you have the cocoons, Grandmother. The ones we zapped attacking Angie’s place have been tagged for disposal. They’re in the system now and we have to account for them all.”
“They’re a little stringy in that form anyway.” Grandmother cast a last look at the last of the swarm of Mindworms, now disappearing into Golden Gate Park.
Kirby’s voice took on a more cheerful tone. “The ones still walking around have forfeited permission to be here, so they’re fair game if you can catch them,
“It’s hardly worth chasing after them,” Grandmother cast an assessing gaze at the retreating Mindworms. “Still, when they’re still on the hoof, they’re much juicier. I’ll see if I can catch up to them.” She set off at a brisk pace into the park. Some of the Mindworms looked back to see her and started to move a lot faster.
Kirby conferred with Wade and the Hiromi. They started loading the cocoons into the back of Wade’s truck.
Kirby beckoned me over. “Angie, would you mind if Sophie stayed with you for the day?”
Wade tossed a cocoon into truck “I’d stay but we’ve got to drop these off for processing and transport,”
“Do I really need babysitting?” I felt alarmed but had to admit I didn’t want to face another horde of Carroll Caine impersonators alone.
“If those things come back or worse things show up, Sophie can help you defend yourself,” Wade said. “I‘ll be back as soon as these critters are on their way.”
“That sounds good,” Kirby said. “Mindworms can kill by draining your life force, but they’re stealthy, not aggressive. Usually, they sneak around and graze among ordinary humans, just snatching small bites of energy like freeloaders picking up the odd crab puff at a buffet—always hungry but never tempted to stop and feed. I have heard that once they sense a source of great power they are drawn to it. It’s unheard of for them to hammer at the door demanding to be let in and they never swarm the way they did today.”
“That doesn’t exactly set my mind at ease,” I shifted from foot to foot uneasily, still full of nervous energy from all the tagging.
“Your amulet will protect you,” Kirby said. “Sophie will be here to take the lead. Just don’t engage with Mindworms that’s how they infiltrate your thoughts and start to drain you. Like a lot of species that use mind control, they need you to open up to them. So don’t. The fact that they attacked you gives us some ideas what other creatures might try in the future.”
“Lovely, you’re saying I somehow attract these creatures?”
“The Quartermaster at the Armory, Joel, is going to work with Hiromi and Wade to figure out how we can best help you. For today, stick with Sophie.”
“We’ve got to offload these Mindworms,” Wade said. “I’ll check back when we’re done.”
“Thank you.” I couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“See you at the Station tonight.” Kirby rolled up his window and drove off.
Someone must have called Sophie because she came strolling down the sidewalk just as Wade and Hiromi were finished loading the cocoons. She carried a big, bright pink box, which she opened next to the truck bed. The aroma of fresh-baked donuts filled the air and my mouth watered. She lifted the lid and gave us a peek inside the box. “The breakfast of champions,” she said. “I’m guessing none of you have eaten yet.”
“Not yet,” I said. “The Mindworms woke us up.”
It might have been my imagination, but Sophie’s mouth curled up a little in amusement at the word “us.”
“I got called out before breakfast,” Hiromi said as she took two donuts.
“Hang on, I’ll take some too.” Wade hoisted the last Mindworm cocoon into the bed of the truck and slammed the tailgate shut. He studied the donuts and picked out three, one of which he ate one immediately and held the other two while climbing behind the wheel.
“We’ll see you guys later,” Sophie said, breezing up my front stairs.
There it was. The sinking feeling in my gut as Wade and Hiromi drove off confirmed that Mia was right. I had a crush on Wade. I’d had crushes on men before and gotten over it. The key was to realize that nothing could or would come of it.
This was ridiculous. A week earlier I hadn’t known he existed. It was probably because I’d spent more time next to him than I had with a man in years. I’d be fine soon. As long as I could stop imagining touching him.
Chapter 22
“Come on, you can stare at Wade later. Let’s eat,” Sophie waited at the top of the stairs. “Chad is out on patrol.”
I felt my face go warm, probably blushing. I followed her in and busied myself filling the kettle and putting it on the stove burner. “Coffee or tea?”
“Coffee at this time of the morning, please,” Sophie said. “Do you have eggs or anything?”
I examined the almost-empty fridge. “No, I haven’t been able to get to the grocery store. I have milk, cream and cheese.”
“We can slice some cheese to go with the donuts. There’s your protein right there.”
“I’m sure I will.” I did. Several minutes later, over coffee, sliced cheese and donuts, I gave in to my curiosity and asked about the ink she’d gone to such lengths to remove.
“If you don’t mind my asking, what were your tattoos of?” I half expected her to tell me to mind my own business.
Sophie looked off into the distance in silence for a moment. “Things and people I can no longer stand to even think about. I decided I didn’t want them in my mind or on my body anymore.”
“Oh.” Her voice had such a tone of rueful regret that I felt bad. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up unhappy memories.”
“It’s okay. Having a painful past makes me appreciate the life I lead now. Learning to control my gift allowed me to draw boundary lines without being overwhelmed by things like hordes of Mindworms—or worse.”
“Worse?”
“This is a big, mean galaxy. There’s much worse. But in my case it was just humans, specifically men.”
“Oh.” I didn’t know what else to say. Not that I was surprised. Sophie was clearly a magnet for everyone. “Even the lizard men were drawn to you. Isn’t that part of your gift?” I didn’t want to use the word “powers.”
“Mostly I don’t talk about it
. But Mr. Kirby asked me to share what I could. In case it might help you. The thing is, it’s like talking about how I got brown eyes. I just was born like this. I can’t remember not having this power over people. I never knew my father and my mother was the same as I am, maybe worse. I learned about disguises from her, but no matter what mask she wore, she was always getting in trouble with men who wanted to help her, to be with her. It never turned out well. Growing up, I thought that was just the way we were. People were drawn to me and some of them did me harm and used me.” The memories must have hurt, but Sophie’s face was serene. I felt her calm presence settling into me.
“What does it feel like to draw people to you?”
She patted my hand. “Mostly it comes as natural as breathing. If I really concentrate, it’s like throwing a net over someone and pulling them close. Human or humanoid like those lizards. People can’t help themselves. But it’s what people do when they get close that was a problem. I didn’t have any discipline or goals. Now I can use my powers for good.”
We both laughed at the cliché.
“Also I can protect myself, that’s pretty important.”
“What about Chad?” I asked. “He definitely pulled me in.”
“He does do that,” she said with an ironic tinge to her voice. “I can testify. Chad has a great gift for pulling and grabbing. The Twins scan showed we both have some siren blood. Mr. Kirby says the sirens visited Earth during the big tourist boom thousands of years ago. They impressed the Greeks enough that they created myths around them. Sirens can pull anyone who hear them.”
“That doesn’t explain Wade, though,” I said hesitantly. “He seems different from Chad, even though they’re brothers.” I didn’t want to be teased for my interest in him, but I wondered... “The Guardian said he has Guardian blood.”
“Chad doesn’t talk about their past and Wade doesn’t even talk much about the present.” She laughed and I couldn’t help but join in. “I know they’re half brothers and they have issues with their mom,” Sophie said. “Maybe Wade will explain to you. Maybe not.” She sat silent for a minute. “So what do you feel when you use your power?”