by P. S. Power
There was something that Glenda had mentioned to him. The real key to being a Cymed wasn't what they did, but in not giving up. Ever. So he didn't. It hurt, and he was exhausted when he got back, but it wasn't all that late. About ten or so. No one was waiting for him or anything, but before he got the gate open Glenda and Carlos both ran at him down the well groomed central trail.
"There you are! No one knew when you were getting out. We called after you, but the police wouldn't tell us, until you were gone. I figured you'd come this way. Come in." She smiled at him, seeming worried, then stopped, looking at his back. "Or, why don't you strip instead?"
"Um, sorry?" His brain wasn't working that well, but getting naked didn't sound right to him. The fact was, he didn't look all that good with his top off. It was the saggy skin, mainly, but it left him feeling a bit shy.
Carlos looked puzzled too, and then walked around Ben.
"I see. They put tracking dust on your clothing. Our outfits are treated to change color when a micro-sender is placed on them. Not that it's all that dangerous or anything. They had to know where you were going. It was probably not about you, or even us. My bet is they just do it when they process the clothing, so that they can keep track of it."
Ben, not being able to think anymore, being too tired, just took off everything. He was as embarrassed as he could get, but it made some sense. Glenda didn't do more than glance at him as he stood there nude, with even his shoes and underwear gone. It was a bit cool out, but also dark, and the compound was almost dead, since it was nighttime.
That meant his feet hurt as he walked back to his cabin, which took a while, but no one stared at him. Carlos and Glenda walked with him, seeming a bit uncertain. Carlos was worried about having failed the new kid. He felt bad about it and everything. Glenda was freaked however. She thought that his mind might have cracked under the strain.
Ben nodded as he walked.
"That was not fun. I wouldn't have lasted a full day, I don't think. A mental institution would have been a lot worse, I bet. If we can avoid it, let's not do that one again?" He tried to sound glib about it, but it came out tired. He smiled and shook his head. "I do have a new respect for everyone else here. Lissa and Mags?"
They all kept walking, going slowly, trying to match his limping pace. Glenda made a noise then, which he didn't pick up on at first. After a bit she just spoke out loud, sounding a little off.
"How so?"
Ben went on for a while, and yawned, holding his right hand in front of his crotch, as if everyone hadn't seen his goodies already. There was something in her tone that he just wasn't getting. If she was thinking about anything, he was only vaguely getting it. That was down to her blocking him, most likely. Which was more likely than not about protecting him.
"I felt bad for them before. I mean, it sounds rough. People being in your head like that all the time? I didn't have a clue though. It actually burned, inside my head. The location didn't help, but that part was... yeah, not good."
Glenda nodded.
"I've heard. Is it really that bad? I figured they were just being wimps." She was teasing, it seemed, now.
"I doubt it? The minds are all so quiet around here... The... I thought I was nearly as strong as they were that way. I mean in getting stuff? I don't think so now. It hurts. The emotions... Can you imagine having the anger of two hundred people all at once? Pissed off ones, too. The depression. No. This place is better that way, but... They have to be in near constant pain."
That got Carlos to make a face, but he stopped for some reason. It took Ben a while to work out that they were standing outside of his cabin. He started in, Glenda following him in.
"Are you... All right?"
"I'll live." It was true, but he needed sleep. That, and some assurance that the cops weren't going to make him do that again.
One of those was actually possible.
"I'm going to shower first. Hey, did the FBI guy get back all right?" He didn't have a name, though calling that out so clearly got Glenda to snort.
"Mitch? Yes. He got a ride with Winston Mills. They processed him out several hours before they did you for some reason. Why is that?"
"Oh. The clothes there? They read biosignals, and mine were off the charts the whole time. Saying I was about to attack? So no one wanted to be near me. They left me handcuffed the entire time, except when I was in court." That hadn't been comfortable, but it was done now.
He didn't wait to keep talking, just heading to the shower. When he came out Glenda was gone. It allowed him to get dressed in peace. Sleep wasn't that easy to get, even though he wanted to very badly. His bed was soft, and he appreciated that now. The cot in the cell had been just a tiny bit better than the floor. Not that he laid on it. He'd been far too worked up for that kind of thing.
After he tossed and turned for a while, he got up and had some water. A lot of it. Drinking from the plastic cup that was in the bathroom. He had six of them, the clear thing not being all that big. Laying back down meant getting up half an hour later to go to the bathroom, and drink more water.
Near dawn he fell asleep, and woke up when a soft knock came on his door. About half an hour later. He got up, realizing it was time for morning meditation already. That got him to open the door, to see Micha standing there, looking worried. Reaching out he took her hand.
"Drugs. I need drugs if I'm doing today." Silence filled his head, which was sweeter this time than it ever had been before. It didn't really look real, but that could be for a lot of reasons. It was a blast of calm and quiet that made him take a step forward. He'd thought things were a lot better after having gotten away from town, but this was nicer by far. He could see it now.
The small, very tan girl, smiled at him.
"I can do that. One sec?" She padded off, but only to her cabin, which wasn't far away. When she came back, at a jog, her right hand was closed.
That got held out for him, palm up. Inside was a single pale yellow pill. It wasn't little, but he took it, not even caring what it was.
Micha smiled.
"Climatrophil. It will wake you up, and keep you that way for sixteen hours. It also tends to... Keep you motivated? It won't make you feel any particular way, just like you want to get things done and help you focus. You'll be awake in about twenty minutes."
He nodded, and started walking along side the woman, who bumped into him, on purpose.
"You all right? I can't imagine..."
Ben forced himself to make a face, and tried not to let the anger come rushing back.
"It's about as bad as you'd think. Anyway, where are the others? I should get to them first." He was about to say Lissa and Mags, but was pushed toward the cabin they were walking past. Number three.
Micha called out, from the walkway.
"Lissa? Ben is back! Alive and everything, you might want to come out and-" The door opened and a gray clad lady with silver hair practically flew out at him. That took him off guard, since she was walking on her own now. The move ended in both a hug and a kiss. That was on the cheek, but was still nice. No one else had given him a hug yet.
She lingered there for a bit, out of breath, and holding on to him. It wasn't really to keep her upright, he didn't think.
"Ben! I missed you. True that was more like missing a drug than a friend, but I really did."
"Fair enough. We need to dig up Mags. And get food. Maybe Clark?" He seemed better off than the others, but that didn't mean he wouldn't want to hang out with them, in a nice bubble of silence. Even if it was all mental.
Lissa looked around and then shrugged.
"Mags went back to her place, when you weren't here. Clark is probably at his cabin. He has a kitchen in his, so he can cook and all that. Mags is closer? We need to get food, and then off to meditation."
Ben didn't love the sound of all of that, given that he was still limping around from his walk back the night before. On the good side Lissa wasn't up to running yet, so they all made their way to
Mags, over the course of about ten minutes. At the door he got a surprise though. From the looks on their faces the others were too.
The woman that came out had freshly trimmed hair, and clean gray clothing. She was very thin, but her face held something a lot closer to a smile than it had before. She hugged him on the doorstep, not letting go for a long time herself.
"You came back! I wasn't sure they'd let you. It was close. There were hundreds of visions about you. Fighting, killing... being killed. You look... Fine?" She was asking, and her face held enough hope that he smiled back, not letting his mood carry into things.
"Pretty much. My feet hurt, from walking back here last night, but I'll be good in a bit. Right now we were heading over to get some food? I didn't have anything yesterday."
Mags moved off then, and looked at the others, like it was their fault.
"Me either. I was too worried. I... Shall we? I haven't been in the dining hall in... Months. Other than the once, I mean. With all of you?" She looked around a bit shiftily, but moved off in the right direction, when nothing jumped her.
The room was nearly empty, since everyone was leaving for meditation already. He didn't want to be late, but had to eat something. He had several pears, as the others all ate different items from the buffet. Micha had eggs, and Mags rolled up some things in a couple of waffles that were on a tray.
Lissa picked at her own food, but had a few bites of different things.
"We should get going. I haven't been to one of these for... Years. Too many people for me."
Mags, one of her cheeks pushed out and filled with food, nodded.
"Same here." She didn't stop eating, just turning to leave. Ben made them stop at the restroom so he could wash up first, which got the others to do the same taking longer. They still weren't that late. The others were all focused on the burning incense already, but that meant it hadn't been going too long, the thing being almost whole still.
They were near the back of the room however, and a lot of the daily exercises hurt. More than they ever had before, thanks to the last days. It was kind of clear to him when he ran over the contraction exercises that he wasn't going to do training for that very easily that day. Then, no one said it would be pain free or simple, so after lunch he headed that direction. The others came with him, since they didn't want to be too far away. That meant Ali grinned at them all when they invaded brown seven.
Micha waved at her and sighed.
"I have to go and do some actual work. You can babysit these three? Try not to let them have too much candy." Then she darted out, laughing.
Like what she'd said had been funny.
Ben shook his head.
"That isn't a joke. I could kill a few five pound bags of flavored sugar and I'm not sure I could stop myself if it were presented. Just, fair warning, I'm sore as all get out right now. I wouldn't even be here, but Micha gave me drugs."
That got a nod from Ali.
"Best time to practice. When you don't want to. Ready?" Her scar wrinkled a bit when she smiled. Ben had seen it before, but not really thought about it.
"Sure. Let's give it a try?"
He did better than he thought. In fact, the red bar of light floating before them turned nearly solid each time. It wasn't perfect, and he could tell the difference, but no one acted like he was an embarrassment to the Cymed tradition. Ali even clapped.
"Part one learned! You need to practice this, but we can move into muscle isolation now. While I set that up, why don't you ladies take turns. Lissa, you first? Right forearm." The tone had shifted subtly, but it seemed like Lissa was game for it.
She didn't do very well, but no one commented on that part. The important thing was that while she started at about forty percent, she was recruiting almost ninety by the time she was finished with it all. She didn't even have an obvious weak spot at her lower back, which Ben still did.
Mags, being an insane bitch, hopped into the sensor area and made the bar light up solidly, the whole time. Everyone stared at her, but she just shrugged when she was finished.
"What? I have nothing to do but practice. I kept up with things." She didn't seem defensive about it even. Just matter of fact. Maybe even a little bit charming.
Their trainer for the day nodded.
"Good. We need to set up some full practice sessions for you then. Lissa, why don't you work with Ben on muscle isolation while we go do that?" She stood up, but Mags shook her head. The move was big and emphatic.
"No. I won't. Not without Ben."
That got the scarred woman to think for a bit and sink back down.
"That... Is going to slow things down. Fine, two hours on this, then we all go and set up the training? Ben, you need to get this down fast then, so I don't have too much wasted time."
It was harder to do than it sounded, but not as physically painful, so that part worked out. Muscle isolation just meant tensing each muscle in his body individually. Mags managed it all right, and while no one was ever truly perfect at it, they could all do better than he could. Even by the end of the two hours. It was annoying, but they had the next thing to get to, so he followed along, gamely enough.
That part was boring for Ben, and Lissa, since they just watched as Mags put on a sensory rig and started fighting. It was incredible to watch happen. He only saw half of it, but it seemed perfect to him. Ali was less impressed however.
"See, this is why we always have to stay in practice. That was... Not that great. Still, you can come in daily now, so do. Ben needs to get a run in now, before dinner. Or a slow hobble, as seems more likely. You ladies should go with him. One lap."
Ben was about to complain, on Lissa's behalf, since she'd been bedridden for so long, but she didn't seem worried about it. In fact, as soon as they got outside, she jogged toward the path, going to the back since that was the closest entry point for it.
She was already going faster than Ben could. Sighing, he watched Mags shoot away as well, and struggled to keep up.
Chapter twelve
The next day was hard on a level that Ben hadn't really expected it to be. The night before he'd gotten enough sleep, which left his head clearer, but his body didn't want to move in the morning. The pain actually ate at him. Inside most of his major muscles. On the good part, those only really hurt when he moved, except for his thighs which just ached. Constantly and apparently with no respite in sight.
"Poor, much abused, me." The phrase was from one of his favorite stories as a kid. It was, now that he was an adult, kind of clear that that the tales of Fifn had been meant as a joke, but there had also been some good and valuable lessons in there. Like not drinking, or doing things that would get you tossed into prison.
Little did Ben know that both would end up being important to him.
Honestly, in as much pain as he was, Ben figured the day would be an even more limping and slow version of the day before. That was the plan, after all. The big difference was that this time he was up early enough to catch a shower and get into clean clothing first.
Which meant he was more than a little surprised when he was met by Glenda when he got out of the shower. Shaved and dressed already, which got her to nod at him.
"Premonition?"
"No. Not that I know of. I just hurt too much to sleep. What's up? I mean, if this isn't just you coming to actually start being my mentor? I have to admit; I haven't been seeing the Glenda love so far here." Which was true, he realized. Even without hinting at intimidating sex that his body wasn't going to allow easily at the moment. She was so big and powerful as far as muscle went that even the thought of it was kind of a turn off. Not that he was ever going to tell her that. It would be rude.
That got her to stick out her tongue, which seemed ridiculous on an adult. It was cute though.
"I've been busy, young apprentice. Besides you haven't really been ready to start yet. We'll be doing that soon however, so try to keep up with things. Today however, we need to get with medical and check you ou
t. They changed you somehow, and didn't really know what would happen. Physically you seem to be working in a normal enough pattern. Kind of the basic one we've used on the new people here for years. The psychic and mental aspects are different though. I think. So we need to test that out, and see about your next set of shots."
Ben nodded.
"Okay. I'll need to get with the others. We should really get Mags a place to stay around here. Nothing else is close enough though." He looked around his tiny home and shook his head, not really wanting an insane woman in with him all the time. If nothing else it would shut down his sex life, or put a crimp in it at least.
Now, sharing with Lissa or Micha... Would still end in disaster, he didn't doubt. Micha was clearly just using him for his ability to get her some peace of mind. He understood that one now and didn't blame her, but there it was. When she did things with him, it would always have the luggage attached to it that the woman just didn't enjoy him that way.
Lissa had flat out mentioned several times that she viewed him much like a therapeutic drug. Again, he got the idea, but given they were the only sane women around most of the time, other than Glenda and Ali, and Ali at least was taken, that didn't seem all that promising. Thankfully, even if he did feel a little horny at the moment, his body twinged with pain when he tried to move.
That distracted him nicely.
Glenda nodded though, smiling while she did it.
"You all get to move, in a few days. We're clearing out green one for you to use. It has enough rooms, as long as you aren't picky about that kind of thing. I suppose you'll want to eat before we go?"
"Meditation too? Though I noticed... Everything gets louder, in my head when I do that. Psychically?"
"Right. You're dropping into a theta brainwave state when you do both, so that makes sense. I've wondered for a long time now if we could train you all to focus on a state that would shut off that kind of thing. It might work, but everyone has been too distracted for it, once the powers kick in. But you, it seems, can turn that off. We need to get on that one then, as well." She didn't suggest they leave, but yawning, Ben headed toward the door.