by John O'Riley
Brian’s face reddened in embarrassment as he realized how simple a solution that was. He was used to drinking filtered water so it hadn’t even occurred to him. He drank two cups of water before returning.
“You should be able to concentrate better now,” she said to him.
Brian nodded in silent acknowledgment. Samantha had them take turns rolling the die for hours. It must have been late when they finally stopped because Brian felt groggy. Samantha left the room and returned with a box of pizza.
“That’s all the testing we’re going to do for today. You can use the cots in the other room to sleep on,” she said before abruptly exiting.
Brian felt a shift in the psionic barrier ensnaring his mind. He realized that Samantha was retreating and that another individual was taking over with the telepathic block. It took several moments for them to switch. He wondered how many people worked at this facility and where it was located. There must not be too many level ten telepaths or Samantha would have had someone relieve her a long time ago. It must be exhausting work. Russell and Brian dug into the pizza.
“That was so boring. I’m exhausted,” Russell said.
“Me, too,” Brian said.
“Do you think we’re going to become multipaths?” Russell asked.
“I don’t know. Multipaths run in my family and I’m not sure if I want to be one,” Brian said.
“My uncle and my grandmother were multipaths,” Russell said hesitantly. “They’re both gone now. My uncle was a level ten psychometrist and became a multipath when he was in high school. He died a few weeks after he developed new abilities.”
“I’m sorry,” Brian said sympathetically.
“That’s okay.”
Brian suddenly realized he was tapped into Russell’s emotional energy and calming it. He had been unconsciously healing his mind. Brian carefully withdrew before he was discovered. Russell wordlessly finished his third slice of pizza and then went over to the couch to sit down. Brian took up a position beside him and wondered if the multipaths in Russell’s family had the same problem as his.
“Does your family ever have nightmares?” Brian asked tentatively.
“What do you mean?” Russell gazed at him with puzzlement.
“In my family, the multipaths and level tens all have recurring nightmares about a serial killer stalking them. They suffer through them off and on – usually it comes with psychic burnout. I have the worst problem with them. They got worse over the last week. It was so bad that my dad took me to a shielding specialist,” Brian said.
“That sucks,” Russell said. “I’d hate that. No, our family doesn’t have that problem. My uncle had psychic burnout that killed him but no nightmares.”
“I guess it’s just a genetic problem in my family then,” Brian said.
He sensed a keen interest flare up in the next room. Samantha and her team of researchers hadn’t known about his nightmares and psychic burnout apparently. Brian wondered how this would affect the testing. He and Russell didn’t have too much to say. They were both exhausted and went to bed on the cots that had formerly imprisoned them. It was disturbing but the fatigue dragged them both into deep sleep very quickly. The next morning, Samantha didn’t arrive until they’d both awakened and were ready. She instructed them to gather in the testing area where the three chairs were grouped around the small table in the corner of the room.
She followed the exact same procedure as yesterday. When she got out the die and set it on the table, Russell went first. Brian decided now was the time to begin gathering information. He had already tuned into her emotional state but hadn’t exerted any influence yet. He pulsed a very low level of energy to smooth out some of the edges. He was so cautious about it that it took over an hour before she felt the compulsion to speak. She was too disciplined to start a conversation on her own. Brian was extremely talented at getting people to talk about themselves but he’d never had to be this careful to avoid detection before.
“You seem frustrated,” Brian said as he took his turn rolling the die. “I suppose you must have been doing this for a very long time.”
“Longer than you can imagine,” Samantha said stiffly.
Brian continued to gently pulse the appropriate emotional energy to her and waited awhile before attempting conversation again. He knew he was almost there. Russell stared at the die when it came to be his turn again. He didn’t move to take it.
“It’s your turn, Russell,” Samantha said crisply.
Impatience spiked and her energy sharpened as she waited for him to move.
“I’m sick and tired of this. You need to let me go,” Russell said.
“You will take your turn,” Samantha said succinctly.
Her blue eyes turned glacial and she regarded him for several long moments. Her energy became completely closed off and Brian almost cried out in dismay as all that effort he’d exerted was now wasted. There was no way she’d be in the mood to talk about herself or the project anytime soon. Her attention fixed firmly on Russell and he suddenly cried out in pain. His hands clamped over his ears as though struggling to block out a loud noise. He breathed heavily and leaned forward. After a lengthy pause he pulled his hands away and straightened again. His gaze conveyed caution and fear as he regarded the scientist seated across from him.
“It’s your turn,” she said coolly.
Without hesitation, Russell picked up the die and obediently continued the experiment. Brian didn’t attempt to work on her until after lunch. She was holding up the cards to see if they could determine what was on the side facing her. Brian began intermittently smoothing out the jagged spikes of her emotional energy. It was a painstaking process and he hoped Russell wouldn’t act out again.
“You seem like a very patient person. You’re very methodical and meticulous,” Brian said casually.
“Those are necessary traits in a scientist,” Samantha said.
“Have you had anyone become a multipath before?” Brian asked.
“There have been several occasions. It takes a special combination of key genomes and I’ve hopefully found the right one this time. We’re very close,” Samantha said.
Brian continued to exert his influence to encourage conversation. He was making significant progress and had finally reached a tipping point in her emotional state. As long as nothing happened to cause her to clamp down, she should start chatting up a storm pretty soon.
“How soon can we expect to gain new abilities?” Brian said calmly.
“I was expecting it to happen today at the latest but it may not take until tomorrow or the next day. There should have been one new ability between the two of you,” Samantha said thoughtfully. “I wasn’t always a level ten telepath. I used to be only a level four with level seven aggregate intuition which greatly aided in my research. A little over a year ago, I had thought that we had cracked the code as one of the test subjects became a level ten telepath and the other a multipath. I had my team take the retrovirus but it didn’t work as I’d anticipated. Instead of becoming a multipath, I lost my secondary ability even though my telepathy strengthened exponentially.
“The retrovirus doesn’t work the same way for everyone. For that one particular individual it worked but for me and Norman, we became level ten telepaths while losing our secondary abilities. Brandon and Ashley experienced no change whatsoever in their talents. Sometimes when you gamble, you can lose everything,” Samantha said. “Project Onyx was supposed to be a short term assignment. It was never anticipated to last more than a couple of years.”
She opened her mouth to continue when the door burst open and a muscular man in his early thirties poked his head in. He had intense, blue eyes and black, close-cropped hair. He wore a green polo and jeans.
“Samantha, we need your help in here immediately,” he said authoritatively.
Samantha bristled and she rose from her chair with a stormy expression on her face. Brian picked up that she was in charge of the group and didn’
t approve of the interruption. Unfortunately, he suspected that the man was going to warn her that she was saying too much.
“That was really weird,” Russell said with trepidation.
“Yes, it was,” Brian said.
Samantha burst into the room with a brittle smile.
“Brandon advised me that you’ve been influencing me, young man,” she said in a chilling tone. “I guess you were hoping I would feel sympathy towards you and Russell. You’re wasting your talent. As soon as I’ve finished testing you and Russell, you will be free to go. However, if you try to manipulate me again, you will be punished. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes,” Brian said.
“Let’s continue with our testing then,” Samantha said crisply.
Brian had once again sensed her lying when she’d told him that he’d be free to go. There was no mistaking her intention to kill them both once she’d finished evaluating their abilities.
Chapter 5
There were always excessively long lines at the movie theater after school and today was no exception. Amy, Derek, Dick, and Stephanie had already waited five minutes and there were over thirty people ahead of them. Amy really wasn’t in the mood to see a movie with her younger brother missing but Dick had insisted that they should do something to take their mind off his disappearance.
“Mom was supposed to come home from her assignment this morning. She may be expecting us,” Amy said.
“You worry too much,” Dick said emphatically. “If Teresa needs to talk to you, she can pick up the phone and call you.”
Amy didn’t know how to respond to that one but she was already tired of waiting to see a movie she really wasn’t looking forward to.
“Do we have to see a horror movie?” Amy said.
“I suppose you’d rather watch one of those worthless chick flicks,” Dick said.
“It’s better than watching one of your stupid slasher movies,” Amy retorted.
Derek patted Amy’s shoulder affectionately. “We’ll all have to vote on the next movie we see.”
“Whatever,” Dick said dismissively.
The line moved forward and they all eagerly shuffled closer to the cashiers. Amy’s cell phone rang and she dug it out of her pocket.
“Who is it?” Dick asked quickly.
“It’s Mom,” Amy said with bemusement as she looked at the display.
“Don’t answer it!” Dick said sharply.
“I’m not going to ignore her. It might be important,” Amy said. Dick rolled his eyes in exasperation as she brought the phone to her ear. “Hello?”
“Amy, there are two FBI agents here who are working on finding Brian. We need your help. We’re going to link together and hopefully they’ll be able to pick up on his location. Do you happen to know where Dick is? He isn’t answering his phone,” Teresa said without preamble.
“Yes, Mom, he’s right here with me,” Amy said.
“Good. We can use him too. All relatives and friends. If Stephanie is there, it wouldn’t hurt to have her tag along as well. Also, Derek is his best friend so I’d appreciate it if he could come, too.”
“Sure, Mom. We’ll be right over,” Amy said.
“What is it?” Dick asked as she disconnected the phone.
“There are two FBI agents who want all friends and family to meet over at our house. They think if we’re all together, they may be able to find Brian,” Amy explained.
“That’s so cool!” Stephanie exclaimed.
“So that means you and Derek are also welcome to join us. We’d appreciate your help.”
“I’ll be glad to,” Stephanie said.
“I’ve heard about this,” Dick said.
“Heard about what?” Amy asked.
“Sometimes in missing person cases, a level ten remote-viewer can use family members as a link to find someone. Usually, it’s not needed though,” Dick said. “Something must be wrong.”
“I hope we find him soon. He’s been missing for three days now,” Amy said.
The police had already used three of their officers with remote-viewing ability as well as their psychometrists without any success. Dick had taken his car to drive them to the theater so they all piled into his black SUV and headed for Amy’s house. When they arrived, there was a silver sedan parked in front that she surmised belonged to the FBI agents. Inside, everyone had gathered in the living room. Jason, Teresa’s father and Dick’s younger brother, were talking to Paul on the couch located at the far side of the room. Jason’s wrinkled skin was riddled with liver spots and his brown eyes sparked with concern and fear. Like his older brother, he was a multipath although he didn’t share the self-regenerative ability to stay youthful. His psychic talents included pyrokinesis, telekinesis, botany psi, empathy, and psychometry. He had struggled to control his power for his entire life and had faced psychic burnout frequently. His empathic ability gave him the most grief as virtually everyone caused him pain which was the same for Brian and Derek. Because the three of them were level ten empaths, their proximity didn’t inflict any pain or discomfort on each other. Jason lived in an isolated house in the woods in Arlington which was a good hour drive from Lynnwood.
“I hope we can start soon. I don’t know how much longer I can take this,” Jason said.
“Amy and the others have just arrived,” Paul said reassuringly.
Teresa was seated with two strangers who immediately stood up upon Amy’s, Dick’s, Stephanie’s, and Derek’s arrival. Teresa’s long blond hair was pinned in a tight bun which was typical for her. She was thin with piercing blue eyes, an aquiline nose, and long dainty fingers.
“I’m glad you could come so quickly. This is Agents Hurst and Driscol,” Teresa said.
Agent Hurst was a medium set man with brown hair and brown eyes wearing a tan suit. Agent Driscol was a short woman in her early thirties and had green eyes with her long brown hair in a ponytail.
“I’m a level ten remote-viewer and I’ll be trying to get a fix on Brian,” Hurst said. “My partner is a level ten psychometrist and has already checked out his room and the house for psychic imprints.”
“Did you find any clues as to his whereabouts?” Dick asked.
“We found some clues but nothing that can help us right now,” Hurst said. “Shall we get started?”
“Yes, we really should,” Teresa said hastily. “Jason is going to need to leave soon. Too many people are crowded together here.”
“Of course. If everyone will please take a seat,” Hurst said smoothly. He waited until everyone had settled comfortably before speaking again. “I will need you all to concentrate on Brian. Brush aside any other thoughts. Focus only on him. It’s always harder to concentrate on one object or person than everyone thinks until they try to do it. It helps if you close your eyes.”
“That’s all we have to do? Just think about Brian?” Dick asked in a somewhat scornful tone.
“Yes, that’s all,” Hurst said. “The reason this works is because we are all linked telepathically. Since you are family and friends, your link to Brian is stronger than that of a stranger. When you think about him, your link to him becomes stronger and allows me to track him better. Since we are all sharing the same goal, our links to each other will strengthen as well and you may receive my remote-viewing impressions. Don’t let it distract you. We should begin now.”
Amy concentrated on her brother which is what she’d been doing for three days now. She couldn’t stop thinking about him so it wasn’t as difficult as Hurst made it out to be. A tense silence hovered over them as they all quietly sat and just concentrated. A hazy image of Brian in an arm chair with two other individuals in matching chairs danced along the edge of her mind. A redhead boy about Brian’s age sat beside him and a woman in her late thirties faced them. The scene was hazy and distorted so Amy couldn’t get a clear look at any of them or what the woman was holding up. The image evaporated and Amy felt alarmed at the thought that they may have lost their link to him. Sh
e silently reminded herself that she was only receiving impressions from Hurst and he probably saw much more clearly than she did. She had no remote-viewing ability whatsoever and had to trust the FBI agent to do his best. She brushed aside her anxiety and focused exclusively on Brian.
Time dragged by with only fleeting impressions of Brian tickling the back of her mind occasionally. Amy shifted uncomfortably as her body ached from sitting still for so long. She didn’t notice right away how warm she’d become until a wave of scorching heat washed over her. She opened her eyes with surprise as she realized that Jason must be suffering from psychic burnout. His eyes snapped open and he clutched his chest and gasped for breath. A small fire erupted on the edge of the coffee table and there were several thuds from the walls as Jason’s telekinetic ability misfired. Teresa stepped toward him just as he crumpled to the floor. His body jerked spasmodically. The couch he’d been sitting on lurched violently. An instant later, Stephanie and Dick were thrown by an unseen force over the couch. The lamp on the end table toppled over and the wall pounded again as though something large had smashed into it.
The waves of scorching heat abruptly died away and the telekinetic misfires halted as Jason lay very still. His brown eyes stared unseeing at the ceiling as Teresa knelt over him with an intense expression on her face. Amy knew that she was enveloping his mind with a psionic shield. Teresa lacked the training to shore up her father’s own defenses but could reach into his mind and extend her own shield over his which would halt the psychic burnout.
“I’ve got his mind protected now. His condition is stabilizing,” Teresa said.
Paul rushed out of the room and returned with a couple of glasses of water which he poured over the small fire on the table.
“Is he going to be all right?” Amy asked.
“He’s waking up now,” Teresa said with relief.
Jason’s eyes were still staring up at the ceiling but he suddenly blinked and abruptly sat up. He quickly surveyed his surroundings and his eyes rested on his daughter with an apologetic smile.