Winters Family Psi Chronicles 2: Project Onyx

by John O'Riley

  “Brian’s okay. It probably wouldn’t have done any good to visit because Agent Hurst has got him hypnotized right now. She’s training him for controlled dreaming so he can use his connectivity psi to pick up stuff about the captors and dream about them,” Amy said.

  “I wonder if it will work,” Dick said.

  “Who knows?” Amy said. “I don’t trust them.”

  “Neither do I. Is Brian having nightmares or anything?” Dick asked.

  “Not really,” Amy said.

  Dick was tempted to ask if Brian had dreamed about him again but didn’t want to look like he was hiding anything. It really bothered him not knowing for sure. Brian was too big a threat now. Dick may not have any choice but to kill him.

  “Are you okay?” Amy asked.

  “I’m fine. Just tired. Why do you ask?” Dick asked warily.

  “You were so quiet. I should probably let you go so you can rest. Thanks for calling, Dick,” she said.

  “You’re welcome. Say hi to Brian for me.”

  “I will. Bye.”

  Dick mulled over his predicament and tried to think of a foolproof strategy for keeping his secret safe from Brian. There was absolutely no definitive way to prevent a connectivity psi from dreaming about something. Dick swallowed nervously as he worked on the problem late into the night but no ideas sprang to mind.

  Chapter 14

  Brian lay down on top of his bed as Driscol instructed. She sat on his desk chair beside him and Paul sat on the other one slightly behind her and off to the side just a bit. Driscol had closed the door and had advised Amy that they weren’t to be disturbed. Driscol shot Paul an annoyed look.

  “This would work better if the two of us were alone,” Driscol said in a disgruntled tone.

  “I want to make sure my son is safe,” Paul said firmly. “If Teresa wasn’t away on an assignment, she’d want to be here as well.”

  Driscol sighed heavily and turned back to face Brian. He had a DPU connected to ear buds that were currently secured to each ear. Driscol had generously given him the DPU which was programmed with four varieties of music that contained subliminal messages to help him control his dreaming. The instrumental music was designed to direct his mind into an altered state. Driscol recommended he use it while strengthening his psionic shielding in the morning and in the evening. She claimed it would enhance his ability to protect himself while listening to the music.

  “Close your eyes and turn on hypnosis session one on the DPU,” she said.

  “All right,” he said.

  He picked up the DPU, scrolled through the short list of options, and gently tapped on the appropriate one. Immediately, music drifted from the ear buds followed by a soothing voice that guided him through a series of simple relaxation techniques. He followed the commands and soon felt as though he was floating. He barely remained conscious when the dreams began. Ashley paced back and forth in her hotel room. A sense of impending doom and panic flooded her senses. She glimpsed her reflection in the mirror across the room and started at the terrified look on her face. Ashley sat down on the end of the bed and squeezed her eyes shut. She knew Brandon was trying to kill her or at least would try soon.

  She had developed precognition as an extra secondary ability. Unfortunately, precognition was one of those uncontrollable talents. She couldn’t direct it to see what she wanted. She could merely cause it to activate and push it in a general direction. She had no idea of the time frame when Brandon would kill her. She had seen him stopping her heart with his new ability to heal. Ashley shuddered as she relived the future memory in her mind. She wanted to turn herself in to the authorities but doubted they could protect her. Brandon could kill with his healing ability from a distance of at least thirty feet but it wasn’t clear as to whether he needed to see his target or whether he could lock onto the energy signature.

  The scene rippled as if it were a reflection in a pond in which someone had tossed a pebble or two. After a moment, the scene shifted to Samantha who perched on the edge of her desk chair. Her DPU lay on the desk in front of her and a large blue holographic screen hovered in front of her. She had been reviewing data from test subjects who’d been given previous forms of the retrovirus formula when Brandon had called. Samantha’s eyes contained deep, dark circles and her face was pallid.

  “Are you sure she hasn’t just left to run an errand or something?” Samantha asked as renewed alarm made her death grip on the edge of her desk tighten so hard that her knuckles bulged. “Ashley hasn’t been responding to my messages but why would she go into hiding?”

  “It’s possible she developed a talent that warned her of our intentions,” Brandon said.

  “I knew I should have acted sooner. She’s always been a wildcard and a potential liability but her insights helped us to achieve our success with the formula. Do you think that Norman may defect as well? He’s always been a bit squeamish about our research practices,” Samantha said in a cool tone that didn’t betray the inner panic that tore through her.

  “I’ll talk to Norman and assess his condition. You said he’s reporting to you on a regular basis, didn’t you?” Brandon asked.

  “That’s correct,” Samantha said.

  “I’m going to see what I can learn about Ashley’s new abilities with my psychometry. This may take awhile. The retrovirus made her psychic imprint distorted,” Brandon said.

  “Thank you. Report to me when you’ve found out anything,” Samantha ordered.

  “I will comply.” Brandon abruptly disconnected.

  Samantha’s eyes stared through the holographic screen in front of her as she mulled over her situation. Her suspicions about the possibility of Norman betraying them had increased drastically as she remembered all the remarks he’d made over the last several months. Her aggregate intuition compiled all the key phrases he’d uttered as well as the stray thoughts she had picked up but dismissed over time. Brandon had always been unreadable but she was also seriously concerned over his own possible betrayal. Was it her imagination or had Brandon sounded just a little bit insubordinate when he’d questioned her about Norman? She focused her thoughts on Brandon and realized she’d never once picked up any stray thoughts from him. He’d already been a trained psionic officer for the Special Forces when he’d joined Project Onyx.

  Samantha’s aggregate intuition showed her that if Brandon did betray her, it was likely because he blamed her for the lack of discipline and ability to control those in the group. She had failed to keep Ashley in line and could have dealt with Norman’s objections better. Because she had waited to order Ashley’s execution, Brandon would hold that as further evidence she was ill-suited for her leadership position. In fact, it was possible that he’d secretly maintained communication with the commanding officer who had ordered Project Onyx. After all, Brandon was the only one of the four researchers who’d already been a trained operative in the military.

  Samantha took a deep, shaky breath as her aggregate intuition flooded her with information, impressions, and doubts. If Brandon was a mole, it was likely he’d been given orders to kill all the researchers. Samantha’s gaze dropped down to her hands which still brutally gripped the edge of the desk. She abruptly let go and pulled away. They ached a little from the tight pressure. She needed to keep a close eye on Brandon. Samantha had submitted a report of their team’s success but the mysterious operative had merely replied back that her results were still inconclusive and that she had to prove the retrovirus was successful with more data. He or she had ordered at least 4 more test subjects and they all had to be low level psychics with no secondary abilities. Samantha hadn’t informed Brandon of the communiqué yet. She wanted to take care of Ashley first. If Ashley turned herself in, Project Onyx was finished and all the researchers would be cut loose.

  Samantha had no way of bargaining with the authorities as she had no clue as to the identity of the operative in charge of Project Onyx. She felt as though she walked unprotected across a tightrope s
uspended high into the air. Just one misstep and everything would collapse into ruin. The dream drifted away and Brian awakened. He took stock of his surroundings to orient himself. Driscol leaned forward as she intently watched him and a satisfied smile curved her lips.

  “I saw Ashley and Samantha,” Brian said.

  “I know. You already told us,” Driscol said.

  “I said everything out loud?” Brian asked with alarm.

  “Don’t worry. You only spoke aloud when you started dreaming. The hypnosis session worked perfectly. I would have hoped for some details that would help us discover their identities or find out where they are located but this is an excellent start.”

  “How do you feel?” Paul asked with concern.

  “I’m fine,” Brian said.

  “Great!” Driscol said. “Now, remember what I told you. Listen to the music at least twice a day, preferably for a minimum of thirty minute increments. And remember to use the DPU to record any of your dreams that you remember when you first wake up.”

  “I remember,” Brian said with annoyance.

  “Of course,” Driscol said as she rose from her chair. “I’ll see you tomorrow after school.”

  Hurst and Morgan were waiting in the living room with Amy and Derek. The three FBI agents left the house and Brian filled them in on what he’d seen.

  “If you keep seeing the researchers, you’re bound to learn exactly who they are,” Amy said. “By the way, Dick called and said to say hi.”

  “Thanks,” Brian said. “It’s really disturbing how deep I was and that I told Agent Driscol everything about the dream without remembering that I was saying anything.”

  “That’s why your mother didn’t want you alone with her,” Paul said. “We can’t ever trust them.”

  The painting on the wall flapped like a wind was whipping through and causing it to tap lightly against the wall. Various pillows on the couches shifted as though alive and stretching. Amy chewed nervously on her lower lip as she unknowingly exercised her telekinesis in the room.

  “We’ll be okay,” Brian said for his sister’s benefit.

  “Do you guys want to go to Tiffany’s Café and play some pool?” Derek asked.

  “Sure,” Brian said. “It sounds like fun.”

  “I’ll see you guys later,” Paul said.

  Derek drove Brian and Amy to the café which had half a dozen pool tables in the back. They ordered chai teas and sipped them while playing. Brian abruptly felt disconcerted and it took a moment to realize someone was telepathically “knocking” at his periphery like a door. He’d promised his mother he’d practice and wondered if this was her. He answered the knock and discovered it was his grandfather Jason.

  “Grandpa,” Brian said. “How are you doing?”

  “I’m great. I wondered how things are going for you? Are you still stable?” Jason asked.

  “Yes, I don’t have any problems with psychic burnout. Agent Driscol is training me on controlled dreaming. She hypnotized me today and I didn’t even remember telling her about the dream but apparently I said everything out loud. Dad was there.”

  “I’m glad you weren’t alone with that woman. She can’t be trusted. None of them can be. We don’t know how far the conspiracy with Project Onyx goes. It may just be the researchers and one operative in charge of it working alone or there could be a team or committee in charge of it. There’s no way of knowing for sure. It’s hard to keep secrets and the more people involved makes it even harder so chances are there aren’t too many people involved,” Jason said.

  “I understand,” Brian said. He realized his connection with his grandfather was slipping. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep this going so I’m going to have to say goodbye soon. If I lose you all of a sudden, it’s not because I blocked you out on purpose.”

  “I’d better quit dilly dallying then,” Jason said wryly. “The reason I called you is to tell you that Russell is here. Today is his first day of treatments. I suspected you were a little worried about him so you’d want to know.”

  “I’m glad he’s receiving treatments. I was kind of wondering,” Brian said.

  “Take care, Brian.”

  “Bye, Grandpa.”

  When Brian cut the connection, he realized Amy and Derek were staring at him with concerned looks.

  “I was just talking to Grandpa Mackenzie,” Brian explained.

  “Really?” Amy said with awestruck wonder. “But isn’t he cut off from Global Net?”

  “Yes,” Brian said slowly and then it struck him that communication shouldn’t have been possible. They no longer shared the same telepathic network link. “How did we do it?” Then he remembered his lessons with Melissa and how everyone had smaller connections in addition to the Global Net. “That’s because we have connections with family and friends who we’re close to. We forge them over long periods of time subconsciously. Grandpa and I must have one.”

  “Of course,” Derek said and nodded in agreement.

  “It’s still amazing that you can do that. Is it very different being tuned in telepathically to everything?” Amy asked.

  “Yes, it is,” Brian said. “I’m always aware of the presence of thoughts. My psionic shield keeps me from being bombarded by them. It’s kind of like a different energy signature to my empathy.”

  “But you don’t have any problems with pain?” Derek asked.

  “Not really. Just very small twinges. My psionic protection has never been this strong before,” Brian said. “I’ll have to be sure to not skip any of my sessions in the morning or at night.”

  “It’s really a pain having to do that,” Amy grumbled as she took her turn at the pool table.

  She took her time glaring at the white ball before smoothly and deftly jabbing it with the cue stick. Her accuracy was uncanny which made her a difficult opponent to beat. She was also the most competitive and so she took extra time with each shot. Derek and Brian were a bit more careless with it which was fine with Amy as she liked to win.

  “Your connectivity psi sounds like a useful tool,” Amy said as she straightened to her full height now that her turn was over. “You said you kept having a psychic vampire hooking into you. Do very many people have them?”

  “Yes, many people have more than one connection to vampires,” Brian said. “You have four connections. One of them is a rather large one. I was going to ask if you wanted me to get rid of them for you. Derek has four as well.”

  “Do I have a large one?” Derek asked with dread.

  “No,” Brian said.

  “Why do I have a large one?” Amy asked.

  “I don’t know. Large ones are usually caused by people that you spend time with on a regular basis,” Brian said. “You don’t have to worry though. For some reason, there’s something about your energy that he or she can’t pull very much.”

  “I see,” Amy said. “I would appreciate it if you would get rid of them.”

  “Sure. We can do that later on when I can sit down and concentrate for a few minutes. Maybe when we go back to the car?” Brian suggested.

  “That sounds like a plan,” Derek said. “And how about getting rid of mine, too?”

  “Sure thing,” Brian said.

  Melissa had told him to get lots of practice so it looked like he would have plenty of opportunity flexing his connectivity psi muscles. After a couple hours of playing pool, they gathered back in the car and Brian took care of the muddy orange links that were enmeshed in Derek’s and Amy’s energy matrices. At the end of the day, he dutifully severed the link created by the unknown energy transference psi that had reconnected to his own energy and wondered who was the culprit. He also listened to Agent Driscol’s music as he strengthened his psionic shielding for thirty minutes. It was boring work but at least his protection was still holding up well.

  Chapter 15

  Brian lay in bed staring up at the ceiling as the fragments of his dreams began to fade away into oblivion. He reached over for t
he DPU that Driscol had given him and tapped the journal voice entry feature. A blue holographic screen flickered into existence about two feet over the unit and filled with the words that he spoke. Excitement coursed through his veins as he remembered an important aspect of what he’d seen of Ashley. He didn’t know if he should have called Agent Driscol first but he didn’t want to forget any details of the dream. When Brian finished recording what he’d witnessed, he reached for his cell phone and called Driscol.

  “Driscol,” she said crisply.

  “It’s me, Brian,” he said.

  “What happened?” she said sharply.

  “I had some dreams and I knew you’d want to hear it right away,” Brian said.

  “Go ahead,” Driscol said eagerly.

  “I dreamed Ashley was staying at the Evergreen Motel in Everett,” Brian said and then swiftly relayed the rest of the details. “I recognized the street in Everett or I wouldn’t have known where she was.”

  “That’s great! Thanks for letting me know right away. I’ll see you after school,” Driscol said quickly before disconnecting.

  Brian realized that the dreams he had were events that had already occurred but perhaps Ashley was still residing at the hotel. If so, Driscol would find her today. If not, there may be clues as to her whereabouts. Brian went through his morning routine for strengthening his psionic shielding and then prepared for school. His nerves were edgy with doubts and worries as he wondered how his new abilities would behave in the chaotic crowds of his peers. Paul and Amy were encouraging as they ate breakfast together but they were nervous too. Oddly enough, their concern wasn’t painful as it normally was. He could sense it clearly but the psionic protection was still strong so the pain was absent.

  Brian began to feel the pressure when he pulled onto the campus and parked his car. On his drive over, he had sensed the FBI agent who was assigned to watch him but had lost him in the crowd of thoughts and emotions of the school. Instead of reassuring, the presence felt intrusive as though spying on him even though his purpose was to protect him on the off chance that the researchers tried to kidnap him again. By lunchtime, he was tired and a dull ache throbbed behind his temples. He met with Derek and Amy at the cafeteria.