by John O'Riley
“Yes, you found it,” Melissa said telepathically. “It’s stronger than yesterday and stable. You probably don’t need the other 3 treatments but we’re going to do them anyway to be completely sure you’re safe.”
“Hopefully, I can learn more about connectivity psi,” Brian suggested.
“I wish I had more time to train you. We have just enough left now for you to try to create a new connection. I want you to try to create a connection to me,” Melissa said.
Brian went over their training in his mind then tried to implement it. He abruptly lost his vision of the energy surrounding him. Only normal blackness lay beneath his eyelids. He tried to regain it but found he couldn’t. He opened his eyes and saw Melissa smiling encouragingly at him.
“You did well. It takes some practice before you can create and eliminate connections,” Melissa said. “I should have just created a temporary link between the two of us and had you dissolve it. We can try again tomorrow.”
Adam stepped into the room and Melissa stood up.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said.
When Adam finished the last of the treatments for the day, it was almost one in the afternoon, so Brian walked back to Jason’s dome home for lunch. His grandfather was waiting for him with a paper bag containing burgers and onion rings.
“I stopped into town and go some fast food,” Jason said.
“Great,” Brian said cheerfully. “Where’s Mom?”
“Her appointment started a little bit ago. She’ll be back in about an hour or two,” Jason said. “She’ll probably have questions to ask Lin after linking with the Zen Network.”
“It feels great just being here. It must be spectacular to be connected to the Zen Network,” Brian said.
“You’re right. I’ve never felt as good as I do now. I’m glad I joined Phoenix Enterprises,” Jason said.
Chapter 10
Dick parked his white sedan in the driveway of Teresa’s and Paul’s house. The sun beat down on him from an almost clear sky which was a very rare occurrence so close to Seattle. He rang the doorbell and tapped his foot impatiently when no one responded. He rang the bell three more times in rapid succession then looked back to confirm that Teresa’s, Paul’s, Amy’s, and Brian’s vehicles were all parked in the driveway or in the street. When no one bothered to answer, he reached out and pounded on the door which opened against the pressure of his fist. He flinched backward in surprise then pushed his way inside. Dick moodily slammed the door shut behind him.
“What’s wrong with you guys?” he shouted.
He halted in the living room and gasped in horror. Teresa and Paul lay at the foot of the couch facing the television. Their bodies were smeared with blood. Brian lay back on the other couch as if sleeping but blood soaked his shirt and there was a hole near the chest where he’d been stabbed. Amy was positioned identical to her brother on the other side of the room. A man appeared in the entryway dressed in black and his face hidden in shadows. He held a bloody switchblade in his right hand.
“I killed them all,” the man said in a distorted voice.
He slowly walked deeper into the room and even though the sun shone bright through the window, his face remain obscured in shadows.
“No!” Dick shouted in fury and terror.
“You knew this would happen one day,” the man said with amusement.
“Get away from me!” Dick shouted hysterically.
“There’s nothing you can do. Nothing can stop me.”
The killer continued to stroll leisurely forward.
“I’ve killed everyone and you’re next,” the killer said in that same, disturbing voice.
Dick raised his right hand towards the man and unleashed a powerful burst of telekinesis that sent him sailing through the air and crashing against the wall on the other side of the room so hard it left an indentation. The killer remained on his feet and immediately began walking toward Dick again with the knife still clutched in his right hand.
“This isn’t possible!” Dick screamed savagely.
“You knew I would kill you all eventually,” the assailant said.
Dick projected another powerful wave of telekinetic energy that struck the man with incredible force. The killer halted in place but wasn’t thrown backward this time. Dick continued to slam incredible bursts of telekinetic force against him. Soon, fatigue set in and he could no longer attack. Dick stumbled backwards as the killer resumed his slow, leisurely pace. He lunged to the front door, threw it open, and raced outside. He fumbled with his keys and tapped the unlock button on his remote. As he reached out for the car door, the killer grabbed him and threw him backward. Dick fell flat on his back and the killer plunged the knife into his chest. Brian abruptly awakened from his nightmare. Dick’s terror clawed at his gut and adrenaline coursed through his veins. He reached for his cell phone which he kept lying on his nightstand and checked the time which read a little after two in the morning.
Brian swallowed and sat up as the horrifying images in the dream preyed on his mind. Brian had never actually been stabbed in any of his nightmares like Dick had been. Brian feared his great uncle was in mortal jeopardy. He had to know for sure. Brian tapped Dick’s name on his contact list and activated the call. Dick answered on the third ring.
“Do you realize what time it is?” Dick snarled.
“Are you okay?” Brian asked shakily.
“Not when I’m getting calls at two in the morning!” Dick snapped.
“I’m sorry. I saw your nightmare where you were stabbed and I wanted to be sure you were all right,” Brian said.
“You saw that?” Dick asked in horror.
“Yes. I’ve never been hurt in my dreams before and I was worried about you.”
“What’s the last thing you saw?” Dick asked.
“The killer stabbing you in the chest. After that I woke up. Why? Was there more?” Brian asked.
“Yes but you don’t need to know the gory details,” Dick said sardonically. “Everything’s fine. I’m suffering from minor psychic burnout but you know how it is. We all go through short periods of time. In a day or two, I’ll be completely fine. You go back to sleep and recuperate. You’re the one who needs to be careful.”
“I’m doing well. My connection to the Global Net is stabilizing,” Brian said.
“I’m glad to hear it. Good night,” Dick said.
“Good night,” Brian said.
He disconnected the phone just as the door swung open. It was too dark to see who stood in the opening until his mother tapped the touch panel. Brian squinted for a moment as his eyes accustomed themselves to the sudden illumination.
“What are you doing up so early?” Teresa said in a tight voice. “You were on the phone.”
“I shared Dick’s nightmare. I had to see if he was all right. He was stabbed by the killer,” Brian said.
“I’m sure he was fine.”
“Yes, he’s fine. But you know that if you die in your dream, you die in real life,” Brian said.
“That’s a myth. There are many individuals who have experienced death while sleeping with no detrimental physical results. I, myself, have been killed in countless dreams,” Teresa said in a factual tone. “It is regrettable that you had such a disturbing nightmare though.”
Brian told her about the dream.
“I see,” Teresa said. “Your connectivity psi shows you disturbing things.”
“I’m not the one who dreamed I got stabbed,” Brian retorted.
“Yes, you did, since you shared his dream,” Teresa said.
“I guess,” Brian conceded.
“I had a talk with your grandfather after you went to bed and I came to the conclusion that I provided you with erroneous counsel when I advised you to keep your dreams of your captors a secret. There are many level ten telepaths that work for the FBI as well as level ten variants who have the means to detect subterfuge. It’s not feasible to try to keep something like that under wraps. I wi
sh there was another course of action but you will need to tell them what you know,” Teresa said.
“I know very little. The only thing I saw was that they injected themselves with the formula that they used to give me and Russell our multipathic abilities,” Brian said.
“They will probably want to teach you directed dreaming so you can control the information you see about the scientists in order to track them down,” Teresa said.
“How effective is it?” Brian asked.
“It’s a long shot but don’t be surprised if that is what they suggest,” Teresa said.
“And it won’t be a suggestion. It will be a requirement,” Brian said.
“You are correct.” Teresa smiled apologetically. “Now, get some sleep. Your appointment for the treatments tomorrow starts at nine.”
“All right.”
Teresa tapped the touch panel and the lights went out. She stepped out and closed the door softly behind her. Brian set his phone aside and lay back down. His body tingled with awareness as connections began to weave in his mind as though there was a hidden meaning behind the serial killer. Every high level talent had dreamed about him. He was always obscured by shadows. No one had ever seen his face or clearly heard his voice. Few other details remained as most family members didn’t like to discuss their nightmares. Brian wondered if there could be some sort of mysterious phenomenon at work. He’d seen the serial killer as a looming, dark mist above him when he woke up sometimes. Brian wasn’t sure why he’d never considered the possibility that the serial killer could be an entity of some sort that was following the family. Very little was known about entities as there were few mediums and none of them were stronger than a level five.
If there was an entity that somehow attacked high level talents in the family then it was possible that it was the cause of most of the psychic burnouts. Dick’s dream suggested it may actually possess the ability to actually murder people and that it planned on doing so. Brian dismissed this horrifying idea as it just didn’t feel right somehow. His aggregate intuition was trying to connect the dots but it didn’t have enough information or psychic input to figure out the puzzle. Somehow, it would lead to a solution to the family’s problem of psychic burnouts.
When Brian finally fell asleep, he saw Samantha sitting in a white armchair in a spartanly furnished living room. Her crisp, white blouse and gray, business slacks looked uncomfortable. Her blond hair was restrained in a tight bun. An identical chair to the one she currently occupied was positioned on the other side of the glass coffee table. No other sofas or couches occupied the room. A white, plastic desk was ensconced in the far corner of the room with a simple, gray cushioned office chair. The office supplies were neatly placed in the desk drawers and the small bookshelf positioned beside the desk. A small television cart with a thirty-inch plasma television faced the chairs and coffee table. The stark, white walls contained no decorations or paintings. Samantha’s thin, silver DPU lay active on the glass surface of the table, efficiently recording her conversation. A holographic screen hovered in front of her displaying the words as she spoke. A holographic keyboard floated just above the DPU in case she needed to make corrections.
“My flu-like symptoms are over but my body is still extremely weak. Brandon is in the recovery stage like myself. Norman reports he is still very sick. I am concerned by Ashley’s lack of response. She only reported in twice and has failed to answer her phone or return my calls. She kept her psionic shield up strong but I could sense guilt and indecision for the last several months that we worked together. The experiments have always bothered her but it seems to have gotten worse over time although her blocks make it impossible to tell for sure. I do know she got very sick so it’s possible she died from the retrograde virus but it’s more likely she’s intentionally ignoring me. If she hasn’t responded by the end of the day, I will have Brandon check in on her tomorrow.
“On a more positive note, I have developed a new secondary ability. My level ten aggregate intuition has returned. I have collected numerous puzzles and mathematical equations over time in order to test the return of my ability. It is stronger than ever. My ability to aid in further research projects will be greatly enhanced.”
Samantha paused and her gaze became distant. She sat almost completely motionless for several moments then her glacial, blue eyes fixed onto the holographic screen.
“It is possible I may have developed connectivity psi as well. I dreamed about my last two test subjects, Russell Edwards and Brian Winters. Unfortunately, I am unable to verify what I saw was real or just my subconscious mind processing data in a normal dream. I tried to use my connectivity psi several times without success but most people who develop this talent fail to use it consciously and only experience the dreams. However, since my abilities are still developing, I hope to develop it to its full potential,” Samantha said crisply.
She skimmed over the words on the holographic screen hovering in front of her then tapped the deactivation button on the glowing blue keyboard. The holographic images flickered out of existence. Samantha smoothly rose to her feet. She went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator to reveal shelves of neatly and geometrically arranged products. The scene rippled and was replaced by one after another. When Brian awakened, he could barely remember the details of any of them except for the one about Samantha. He told Jason and Teresa about the dream during breakfast. Jason had once again fixed bacon and eggs.
“I was concerned this would happen,” Teresa said with resignation. “Your connectivity psi is honing in on your captors. Because they kidnapped and experimented on you, your subconscious perceives them as a threat so it’s gathering information about them.”
“Those two FBI agents will be chomping at the bit to use your new talent to track down that research group,” Jason said with displeasure.
“I wish I could control it,” Brian said dismally.
“There are some talents that no one can master completely. Connectivity psi is one of them,” Teresa said. “However, you may learn to manage it to some degree.”
“It’s possible that if he links to the Zen Network, the dreams will stop,” Jason suggested.
“It’s best not to seize on false hope,” Teresa said. “I have been considering joining Phoenix Enterprises after the appointment I had yesterday. It’s a lot for me to consider.”
“It’s not like you would have to relocate. You don’t have to live on the compound. That part is optional. Most people find it preferable to live here,” Jason said.
“I realize that. I will continue to consider all advantages and disadvantages until I come to a decision,” Teresa said coolly.
“What are the disadvantages?” Jason asked.
Teresa merely fixed a stony, unreadable look at him before changing the subject.
“Brian, your dream clearly indicates that Samantha is strictly regimented. She may suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder,” Teresa said. “You’re learning a lot of details about the research team’s personal lives. It will undoubtedly result in their eventual capture. Unfortunately, if Samantha’s theory is correct about her own connectivity psi, she may learn that you are dreaming about her which will make you a target for them again.”
“I didn’t think about that,” Brian said.
“The FBI will have people watching over you but you will need to remain diligent,” Teresa cautioned.
“I will,” Brian said.
When he reported for treatments, the doctors went through the regular routine. His favorite part was his session with Melissa as he was interested in mastering his connectivity psi. Today, she wore a dark gray sweater with a large, turquoise pendant and brown pants. She smiled in greeting.
“Good morning, Brian,” she said.
“Good morning, that’s a beautiful pendant,” Brian said.
“You flatterer, you.” Melissa’s smile widened and she chuckled as she sat down in the chair facing him.
She reached over and gently g
rasped his arm. After administering his treatment, she withdrew her hand and straightened in her chair.
“We have some practice today,” she said. “There are the beginnings of two links from energy transference psi attached to you. You have two people in your life who don’t want to give up on your energy. This is a good training opportunity. It will be easy for you to remove the links using your connectivity psi.”
“Okay.”
Brian closed his eyes and almost immediately the energy around him became visible. He focused on his own indigo sphere that flared bright. He carefully scrutinized the myriad of blue links until he spotted two thin, muddy orange energy beams intersecting with him. One of them had tendrils of red running along it that reminded him of veins. Melissa had shared many memories of the act of terminating links. He reached out with his mind and grasped one of the orange links. He focused on destabilizing it until the link weakened enough that it shattered into smaller fragments that continued to shrink as they exploded farther away and disintegrated completely. He lost his vision of the psychic links and waited for several moments to get it back. He waited awhile longer then the energy snapped back into focus again. All the many spheres of luminescence and the links of energy between them was beautiful. He took a moment to admire the myriad of colors before focusing on his own matrix.
He quickly found the orange link and began destabilizing it. It took considerably longer to destroy than the first one. When he finally succeeded, he opened his eyes to find Melissa’s troubled gaze watching him intently.
“That was unexpected,” she said.
“That I have two links that came back so quickly?” Brian asked.
“No, it’s common to have links reestablish themselves. It will be necessary for you to check daily and destroy any energy transference links. The reason I’m concerned is because the second one took you quite awhile to get rid of and it wasn’t because you’re weak. The individual responsible is extremely powerful. You have at least two individuals who have been draining your energy for years. Can you think of anyone that you interact with who makes you feel uneasy or tired? It may not even be readily apparent for one of them,” Melissa said.