Omega Zero

by Kurtis Eckstein

  I was curious myself now, so I moved a couple of feet to peek in his direction. Sure enough, there was a white device attached to the sink, like a portable water heater that increased the temperature of whatever ran directly through it. Although I had to agree that the fact the electric current ran through the metal handles to turn the water on and off didn’t seem very safe.

  With Trinity and Zane both deciding that these girls wouldn’t be a threat, given that they no longer had any connections with the syndicate we had been after, Trinity moved into a more casual conversation with them. Liz was oddly quiet the whole time. However, once Trinity brought up the idea of a few of us staying with them long-term, I sensed Liz’s emotions spike.

  My head immediately snapped in her direction, the somber expression on her face being like the tiny tip of an iceberg of what was going on internally.

  “Liz,” I exclaimed, reaching out to rest my hand on her shoulder.

  She dropped her gaze then, tears appearing in her eyes.

  Unexpectedly, Sarah spoke up, a look of disbelief on her face. “Pertalian,” she whispered, prompting Farah to nod in agreement, her eyes wide.

  I looked up at them. “Per-what?” I asked.

  “You share the bond,” Farah explained.

  “What bond?” Trinity asked seriously.

  “Umm, it’s a bond that happens sometimes with people who have mind powers. That’s why those people were having me mark on the map whenever I sensed someone, because they were trying to collect those with abilities like mine to get them to bond.”

  “What happens when they bond?” Zane wondered.

  The sisters glanced at each other. “Well, they can sense each other’s emotions, and it usually strengthens at least one of their abilities, sometimes changing it completely.”

  Liz’s emotional state shifted entirely upon hearing that, her voice sounding hopeful as she spoke up. “Do people who are bonded like each other?” she asked.

  The sisters exchanged a glance in confusion. “Like each other?” Farah repeated.

  “I think she means romantically,” Trinity elaborated, seeming a little annoyed for the first time.

  “Oh,” the sisters said in sync. Farah continued. “N-No, I mean I guess they can, but my sister and I are pertalian. That’s why my ability is so strong. If I’m concentrating, then I can find mind powers really far away, but that’s only because I’m bonded with my sister. For the first year after we bonded, my power got stronger every day.”

  “Wait,” I interrupted. “You’ve been around each other all your lives, right? Yet you make it sound like you only bonded recently.”

  “About four years ago,” Sarah finally chimed in. “When we were eleven.”

  “So then, age matters?” I tried clarifying.

  They both shook their heads, and Farah picked up where her sister left off. “No, it usually only happens when people with mind powers have their abilities interact in a stressful situation.” She looked down at the floor then. “They…were really mean to us at first, to try to get us to bond.”

  We were all silent as we considered that. It was pretty obvious when Liz and I would have bonded, since we only had one shared bad experience – the night when I first started using my powers, and when I killed the man who had held her prisoner, reaching beyond her shield with ease while everyone else was forced away.

  I glanced down at Liz again when I felt her internal turmoil begin to pick up after hearing that there was nothing overly significant about being bonded, other than possibly increasing our powers and being able to sense each other’s emotions. Was that why my night vision had improved? Could it also be the cause of my increasing ability to sense the others?

  I pushed those thoughts aside as Liz looked even more miserable.

  “Liz…” I began hesitantly, unsure of what to say. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but her infatuation with me wasn’t going to be reciprocated, certainly not when she was borderline a child. I mean, I knew five years wouldn’t be that big of a deal when we were in our twenties, but that was a long time away, and I was determined to be Trinity’s boyfriend so long as she would have me.

  Liz cut me off before getting much more out, her posture dejected as she stared at the floor. “Can I lay down?” she asked, glancing up at the sisters.

  Farah replied. “Umm, yeah, you can use our bed if you want.” She gestured towards one of the bedrooms, prompting Liz to nod and head in that direction. She closed the door behind her without looking at anyone else.

  I sighed heavily, moving towards the currently empty couch to sit down myself. Since I didn’t fatigue, standing up wasn’t taxing on my body, but I felt like going through the motions of doing something to try to relax.

  Trinity of course picked up on my obvious stress, speaking with a sigh. “I guess I’ll try talking to her,” she offered, standing up. “It might be better if it comes from me anyway, since I don’t really want to stay either – not if you’re going back.”

  I nodded simply. “Thanks,” I replied appreciatively, not planning on taking the bait she had just presented regarding her own reluctance to stay.

  She stared at me for a moment before bending down to unlace her boots, removing them and then giving me a weak smile while heading off towards the bedroom Liz had disappeared in. I hadn’t even considered taking off my own boots, but the sisters didn’t seem to mind. Granted, it probably would have been the respectable thing to do, instead of tracking dirt everywhere. Luckily, the walk through the city had removed most of the grime, leaving only a few dust prints near the doorway.

  Once Trinity disappeared, Zane cleared his throat, asking if they had a shower.

  After Farah confirmed they did, explaining how to turn on the water heater that doubled as a showerhead, along with a warning to make sure the water was running before turning it on, Zane headed for the bathroom. None of us had a change of clothes, but putting on dirty clothing after a shower was better than not taking a shower at all.

  The sisters seemed hesitant once Zane was gone, glancing at each other a few times before tentatively sitting down on the couch across from me, where Trinity had been sitting. I wanted them to feel comfortable, so I decided to make small-talk.

  They told me about being kidnapped when they were ten years old, and then being subjected to stressful situations that were borderline torture until they successfully bonded. Not initially knowing what the people wanted from them, they didn’t have the opportunity to be deceptive and say it had worked. Instead, they were asked a plethora of questions afterwards in separate rooms, their interrogators taking turns making the other upset in order to see if the twin responded to her sister’s emotions.

  They only discovered the purpose after it succeeded, with their new caregivers suddenly being nice and pleasant towards them after months of the exact opposite.

  “It felt more like we were pets,” Sarah admitted quietly. “Like they were mean when we weren’t what they wanted, but once they were satisfied, they started being nice.”

  “Do you know how many people they successfully bonded?” I wondered somewhat absentmindedly. I wasn’t really that curious, since all those people were probably dead now, but I wanted to keep the conversation going.

  They both shook their heads. Farah spoke up again. “I think it was easier for us because we already knew each other, but they seemed to struggle to get the others to bond.”

  “They even tried making us bond with people we didn’t know,” Sarah added. “But that didn’t work either.”

  “Huh,” I replied simply, not sure what else to say.

  Which meant the conversation dropped. I broke the flow, and it was suddenly quiet except for Ava and Zayden talking in the kitchen.

  Finally, Farah spoke again. “So…how did it happen with you two?” she asked tentatively.

  I shrugged. “It was a stressful situation like you said. I was saving her from a guy who had kidnapped her when she was younger. I guess our powers intera
cted then, though I’m not really sure that there was an exact moment when I felt like we bonded. If anything, I was surprised when I realized I could feel her emotions a day later.”

  They exchanged a glance again. “How could you not notice?” Sarah asked. “I never had the ability to sense my sister’s presence before, but once we bonded I could, just like she can sense everyone who has a mental ability. And…and I felt really warm when it happened, and tingly.”

  “Oh,” I replied lamely, thinking back to only a week ago. “Umm, well I did feel warm I guess, but I think it was masked by a different warmth…” I paused, not wanting to elaborate on the fact that I had been actively draining someone else of their blood. “And as far as sensing her, I did go from not being able to sense her very well to being able to detect her presence strongly, but since I already was able to sense people, I didn’t think anything of it. Although…” My voice trailed off as I realized that everything fit now that I knew about bonding – the reason why I could sense Liz even stronger than Trinity now, despite the fact she wasn’t a threat at all. And obviously the reason I could feel her emotions, especially when they were strong like they were now as she and Trinity talked in the other room.

  But I hadn’t noticed our bonding, because I already had traces of those abilities manifesting in different ways.

  “So then, that’s your ability?” Farah asked seriously. “You can sense people like I can?”

  I glanced at her again. I definitely didn’t want to share with her my true power if I could avoid it. “Umm, I can sense threats, so when someone is really threatening I can detect them easier and from farther away. I can sense normal people too, but not as well. And I can also heal quickly.” I paused to let them absorb that. “I did think it was strange when I could suddenly sense Liz strongly, considering her ability isn’t threatening at all, but I had no idea why that might be.”

  They seemed satisfied with that answer, both of them visibly relaxing.

  I gave them a confused look. “What did you think my power was?” I wondered seriously.

  They exchanged a glance as Farah answered. “Well, I can also sort of sense how powerful an ability is, and the basic nature of the one who uses it,” she finally admitted. “And you seem strong…and safe…”

  I thought about that for a moment. I knew my ability was powerful, but was I really safe? Certainly, I would protect the people I cared about, but when I snapped it felt like I leaned more towards the heartless and ruthless, rather than someone who was altruistic. Not to mention my basic nature might result in the death of anyone who was too close if I was hungry enough.

  Granted, she was assessing me as I was now...or maybe that wasn’t exactly true. Were they nervous because she had felt me last night when I had snapped?

  “Do I always feel safe?” I wondered cautiously.

  Nailed it.

  Farah immediately slumped, leaning into her sister as she wrapped her arms around herself protectively. She didn’t respond, but her body language said it all.

  “Have I ever felt scary?” I pressed.

  “Yes,” Farah squeaked. “Not unsafe…but scary, yes.”

  I sighed heavily. “Well you don’t need to worry about anything,” I tried to reassure them. “I was just in a bad mood last night. We all have our bad days.”

  Farah nodded weakly.

  I sighed again and tried to change the subject to something more pleasant. They slowly relaxed again as we talked about the games they liked to play, since they apparently had a few board games in the other room. Surprisingly, Sarah was very animated about what she thought was the best strategy for winning at one game in particular, reminding me that these youthful appearing girls were only two years younger than me, as opposed to being Liz’s age.

  Zane was the first person to rejoin us in the living room, and before long Trinity finally came out of the bedroom with Liz right behind her. It was obvious Liz had been crying, her eyes red and puffy, but her hunger soon helped distract her for a while when she caught a whiff of the smells coming out of the kitchen.

  Personally, I didn’t care for the scent wafting through the air, but I also didn’t eat regular food anymore. Within another fifteen minutes, everyone was gathering around the table to eat the food Ava and Zayden had prepared – everyone except me. I just stayed on the couch.

  It was while Trinity was scarfing down her third plate of food, surprisingly keeping pace with Zayden, that Zane finally commented on her appetite.

  “Jeez Trinity, I’ve never seen you eat so much before.”

  She gave him a playful glare. “You’re not supposed to comment on how much a girl is eating Zane.”

  He scoffed. “As if you care.”

  She shrugged, continuing to shovel food in her mouth like she hadn’t eaten in a month. “You know why I’m probably this hungry,” she commented, prompting Zane to nod and look away.

  I looked away too, until Farah’s voice caught my attention again.

  “Isn’t Jake going to eat?” she wondered.

  I looked over in their direction to see that Trinity had finally stopped eating altogether, glancing towards me.

  “Are you hungry, Jake?” she asked evenly, like it was an offer. Everyone else froze.

  I gawked at her, not missing the undertones of her question. “Are you serious right now?” I asked in disbelief.

  “Very serious,” she replied without batting an eye.

  I felt my brow furrow. “No,” I said firmly, looking away. My tone was harsher than I intended. “Never again.”

  “Jake –” she began, her tone more gentle this time.

  I cut her off. “Never again,” I replied even more firmly.

  Everyone was quiet for a long few seconds, before she huffed out a sigh and resumed eating, prompting everyone else to slowly follow suit. The sisters must have hesitated though, because I heard Ava speak quietly to them.

  “He only needs to eat every few days, but when he does eat, it’s a ton. He devoured most of our supplies just yesterday,” she laughed, a surprisingly convincing one. “If he was hungry right now, he’d probably eat all this food by himself, leaving nothing for us.”

  I felt a small smile touch my lips, impressed by Ava’s impromptu creativity. It was a decent lie, though I wasn’t sure if the girls were naïve enough to believe it. But once they resumed eating, I assumed they must have bought her deceit.

  Better that, than them know the truth – that the blood-drinking demon they were worried about was me all along, rather than Trinity. I just hoped her eating so much food would really help her recover. I had considered trying to give her more of her blood back, like I had done before when I first stole it, but I didn’t want to risk getting too hungry again. I was already beginning to feel a little chilly after the last day and a half, especially since I had never fully refilled to begin with.

  After they were done eating, we formulated our plan for the next couple of days.

  We would all stay the night here with Farah and Sarah, but in the morning we would have to say our goodbyes. Zayden, Ava, and I would travel to another village a little over ten miles away, and then contact the base to let them know where to pick us up.

  Liz of course was still torn up with the idea that I’d be leaving her behind, but I supposed it helped knowing that Trinity was staying as well, because she knew I’d definitely come back for the latter of the two. I suspected that if Trinity came with us, then Liz would think I was abandoning her, as opposed to trying to protect her. Although, while I wasn’t looking forward to being away from Trinity for an indeterminate amount of time, I did hope that some space might help alleviate Liz’s borderline unhealthy attachment to me. But only time would tell.

  We all took turns in the shower, and then later that night I found myself sitting on the couch with Trinity and Liz squished together next to me on the remaining two cushions, Trinity’s head touching my hip.

  Ava was on the other couch across from us, while Zayden and Zane
were using two foldout cots in the extra bedroom. There were actually four cots altogether, but I wasn’t about to sit in a bed with Trinity and Liz; and Ava rightfully thought the couch was more comfortable.

  But that left me alone for most of the night again, except this time my thoughts were focused on the immediate future. Oddly enough, even though most of the lights were off, I almost didn’t notice the difference, which meant my night vision really had improved a lot. But I had more important things to consider than my enhanced eyesight.

  I knew I had to be convincing when it came to my reaction to the idea that Trinity and Liz were dead, or at least missing, but I wasn’t sure I could pull off anything crazy like crying. However, I could probably act depressed. Really, that would likely be the approach we would all take – even Zayden.

  But I also had another problem that needed to be dealt with in the near future.

  I needed to eat.

  And I wasn’t about to take Trinity up on her offer, which meant I either had to try to hold out until we got back to base, risking Ava and Zayden’s safety, or take care of the problem myself beforehand.

  In the end, I decided to take care of the issue now.

  Once I was confident everyone was sound asleep, I slipped out into the night…

  To hunt.

  Chapter 4: Hunting

  I had a couple of ideas of how I might eat without killing people, but I was disappointed when I snuck through the streets and into the trees to try to feed off a leopard I sensed. The massive wildcat rapidly transitioned from growling to screeching like a woman, as I tried to absorb some of its blood. I quickly shut it up by muzzling its mouth, but it ended up being a fruitless endeavor.

  I didn’t really have a sense of taste anymore, but if I had to compare the leopard’s blood to a taste, then I’d have to go with shit.

  It tasted like shit – or whatever horrible, inedible, disgusting, unimaginably bad tasting thing that existed in the universe.

  However, still hoping that animals might be a possible food-source, I spent almost an hour trying to find any kind of primate amongst the trees. Once I managed to find a few, muzzling my prey before it had a chance to scream, I discovered the same problem.