The Sensorians: Trust

by Brigitte Morse-Starkenburg

  “Does Kas know?” she asked carefully.

  “No, not yet. Not sure how to, really.”

  “You should tell him before we all meet up at the party later.”

  Eliza shrugged her shoulders non-committally and fell silent.

  I felt Bella was a little protective over the guy. She must be good friends with him and he clearly had a difficult time with the whole thing. She didn't know anything about it of course. All Bella knew was that Eliza supposedly had suffered a setback in her mental state and that she'd been treated for that. Kas knew different, having been 'arrested' by Zack and everything, but wasn't allowed to talk about it. Finding out Eliza and I were now together was not going to help his state of mind. She was right, Eliza had to tell him, but she was still sitting quietly, not wanting to talk about it. It was Bella's turn to change the subject.

  “How did you two meet then?”

  I could tell she'd been dying to ask that question from the moment we met. I took it upon myself to answer.

  “Eliza had just been allowed to start activities outside of the institute and we met in an art class. I'm not very arty but tried the class out anyway and we found common ground instantly, Eliza also being far from talented in that department.” I laughed whilst Eliza slapped me playfully. Bella laughed too.

  “You can say that again!” she teased.

  We spent the rest of the time talking about Eliza and Bella's school days, some made up stories I produced about what Eliza and me got up to and any gossip Eliza could get her hands on from Bella. When we were about to leave Bella once more urged Eliza to talk to Kas and I reassured her I would make sure she did, though I could feel Eliza was going to resist.

  “I truly think it's better if we just don't mention it. He'll work it out and then he won't have time to brood over it,” she argued.

  Unfortunately I was no Zack, nor her trainer so I couldn't just order her to get on with it. I had to actually try and persuade her but ultimately it would be her choice. I sighed and tried to talk sense into her once more. I'd sort of given up hope, but then I suddenly sensed her change of heart. She got her phone out and started texting. Minutes later she got a reply.

  “Right then. He's coming over now. But I want to talk to him on my own.”

  I wasn't sure if that was wise, but I couldn't budge her on that, so when he arrived I went down to the kitchen and had a chat with Alice. All I could do was be there for her when she was done, however it would go.

  CHAPTER 12

  Eliza

  I gave in to Zaphy's pressure and told Kas. It was awkward. We didn't hug. We barely looked each other in the eye but I felt his pain and love and his overwhelming need to touch me, kiss me, shout at me, his rage and disappointment. It was hard to shield. He didn't act on any of it. He just stood there one minute defiant, the next despondent. When I told him about Zaphire and me he just sighed and nodded, then left. I think he was there for less than ten minutes. I crashed after he went and Zaphy came to my rescue with a hot cup of tea and a tender hug. I wasn't looking forward to the party Bella had organised in honour of my return. I hoped he wouldn't come.

  That hope was dashed the moment we walked into Bella's house. I could hear Kas' booming laugh in the next room, a little too raucous, a little too wild. He was drunk. This didn't bode well. I was hit by a nasty acrid smell and very tense emotional vibes and I saw Zaphy steel herself too, shielding to the max. I wanted to turn around and leave immediately but then I felt Zaphy's hand in mine, giving me a little squeeze and I managed to steady myself. Next minute, I was surrounded by my former classmates hugging and kissing me.

  “I've missed you so much!” Freya, my biology mate, squealed in my ear.

  It was so loud I nearly shrank away from her. I was quite good at protecting myself from loud background noises like music and the general hubbub of people at parties, but this was a different level altogether. It was physically painful. Whenever us Sensorians had been out in public we never had to shout in each others ears to make ourselves heard, I forgot it wasn't the same for my friends. I couldn't do much about it as everybody wanted to talk to me so I had to just endure it this evening. It was going to be a long night.

  I felt Zaph push something into my hands. A set of earplugs. Of course! Why hadn't I thought of that.

  “Sorry Eli, I thought you had some in already. I should have reminded you! I keep forgetting you are still new to this. I always bring an extra pair so you can have these.”

  Thank goodness. It made a world of difference and I thanked Zaphy with an exuberant kiss, which she returned fervently. We got rudely interrupted by loud whooping noises. I quickly realised it was Kas.

  “Look achou, kissssin and evrrrthing...whooo,” he shouted drunkenly. One of his mates put a hand on his shoulders and tried to lead him away, but he threw it off and pushed passed several people, finger pointing at Zaphy. This wasn't looking good.

  “Sjo, sshhhe's the one? Th'one thaz turned you?”

  He was hardly coherent and Jimmy stepped up.

  “Come on mate. You're embarrassing yourself. Let's go home.”

  Kas wasn't budging though, ignoring Jimmy and moving in on us, swaying on his feet. I could feel Zaphire working herself up to take action, but I decided to deal with this one myself. I owed him that.

  I grabbed him by the arm and forcefully pulled him aside, and pushed him out into the garden. It wasn't difficult as it had taken him by surprise and his intoxicated brain wasn't working at full speed. I was glad as I didn't want to embarrass him even more by having to use excessive force.

  “What the hell do you think you're playing at Kas!” I hissed at him once outside.

  “Actually, do you know what? Just leave. You're too wasted to discuss this now.” I glowered. Kas hadn't quite given up yet though.

  “I miss y'babes. Sjoo much.”

  He tried hugging, heavily leaning on me, but I pushed him off. I grabbed his face and looked him straight in the eyes. I got hit by a jolt and, for the second time in my life, I was looking at my own face. It looked rather fierce but a tad blurry. My body involuntarily shivered and I let go of his face instantly. The image went, leaving me a little stunned. I didn't like this Vision Hacking business one little bit. It was out of my control and I thoroughly detested that.

  “We'll talk tomorrow. Go home. Now. I'll get Jimmy,” I spoke gruffly, trying to cover up my own confusion.

  He sat down on the grass defeated and I beckoned Jimmy over.

  “Take him. He's ready now. Thanks mate.”

  I hated seeing him like this. It was so unlike him and he clearly hadn't moved on. It felt shitty. I felt Zaphy approach and I hastily wiped away a tear.

  “What an arse. Are you okay my sweet?” she asked with an angry but concerned look on her face.

  “Yeah,” I lied, knowing she would see straight through it. “Unfinished business I suppose. Don't be too harsh on him. He's had a rough time,” I soothed over his behaviour.

  “You're too forgiving. He was being a dick in there,” she said spitefully.

  She couldn't hide the scent of jealousy. I decided to let it go. She would learn he's just a friend to me now. Awkward as it was at the moment, I didn't want to lose him completely.

  It turned out that was going to be harder to achieve than I'd thought. Kas didn't return my phone calls nor texts the following day. Then I got a message from Bella saying he didn't want to talk to me and that he wanted me to leave him alone. Difficult as it was, I had to respect that. I sent him one last message saying that if and when he felt ready, I would be there for him.

  CHAPTER 13

  Zaphire

  I knew Eliza had experienced another VH episode, this time with Kas. I wasn't going to say anything to her, as I felt her unease about it. I would report it to Zack. He would know how to coax it out of her and he'd already lined up someone to talk to her anyway. I knew she wasn't keen at all at the moment so I pretended I hadn't noticed.

  We'd been stayi
ng with Alice for a week now and I noticed Eli was getting restless. There had been no sign of Rick trying to establish contact or anything and it was irritating her.

  “He's not going to do it. It's too obvious. You being here and all,” she moaned.

  “We need to go back to the compound and make another plan,” she decided resolutely.

  “Zack wants us to stay here. He's positive Rick will try and contact you. You need to be patient,” I countered.

  “Patience sucks if you haven't got time,” she grumbled. “He won't bite. I just know it.”

  I didn't want to return to the compound yet as I was having far too much fun with Eliza but she was too focussed on her task to be persuaded to let it go and wait. She had already texted Zack with the request to come home, which he'd refused to start with but Eliza wasn't going to take that lying down. She tried about a million times to Facetime Zack and at the end of the afternoon he finally answered.

  “What the fuck are you calling me hundreds of times for? I already told you what I want you to do.” His less than impressed face didn't deter Eliza.

  “You wouldn't answer,” she replied shrugging her shoulders. “I need to talk to you. Face to face. I'm serious; Rick isn't going to make contact this way. It's too easy. He'll suspect it's a trap. If he gets desperate he might try but that won't be for weeks, if not months. I know it, I can feel it.”

  I could see Zack was thinking it over, but I hoped he would stick to his guns and order Eliza to stay here. It wasn't to be.

  “Okay, I'm going to trust your opinion Eliza, but we do need to come up with another plan ASAP. Pack your bags and come home tomorrow.”

  Eliza picked up on my sulking straight away and teased me about it. I just didn't want our time together to end as I knew as soon as we were back at the compound Markus would have a whole lot of work lined up for me and soon Eliza would be full into the mission and we wouldn't get much time together. On top of that, Laura had joined the team up North, which meant Markus would be more grumpy than usual without his wife by his side.

  “I don't like it either, Zaphy, but you should know the mission comes first. I can't believe I have to remind you of that!”

  She started playing with my hair, pulling little strands softly and surprising me with a few fierce little tugs, making her giggle uncontrollably.

  I retaliated without mercy and soon she was on the floor begging me to let her go. I scooped her up, and slung her on the bed. This girl was going nowhere. At least for the next hour or so.

  “Do you have to go back already?” Alice asked disappointedly the next morning. “I was just getting used to both of you being here and I kinda liked it. It's lonely without you here.”

  “Don't you start, mum. I just had Bella giving me grief over the phone. We'll be back soon. I promise.”

  Eliza was determined to show how strong she was, but I detected guilt and sadness, even though it had been her that had pushed for our earlier than planned departure. Credit to her, she didn't blame Zack or Markus, but hadn't mentioned it was her idea either. Just as well I think, as Alice wouldn't have stopped trying to convince her to stay otherwise. She knew Zack, and if she thought it was his orders, she gathered Eliza wouldn't have a chance of disobeying them. So she let it be, with just a little grumbling.

  “You'd better not leave it so long again. Please don't get yourself into trouble and please be safe. Goodness knows what your father is capable of. He always was a very determined man.”

  “Alice, are you absolutely sure he hasn't tried to contact you? You haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary lately?” I tried once more to make sure she hadn't missed anything.

  We didn't want Alice harmed and she was to notify us the moment she noticed anything unusual. But Alice reassured us she hadn't observed anything out of the ordinary and that he certainly hadn't contacted her. Though I did catch just the tiniest of hesitations before she answered and I pressed her on it.

  “No, don't worry Zaphire. I just had a strange feeling he was nearby a couple of days ago, but it was based on nothing. I haven't seen Rick or heard from him at all,” she reiterated. I believed her.

  Eliza pulled me aside just before we were about to leave and asked me to follow her to her bedroom for a minute.

  “I need to talk to you before we get back into the compound. Something has been bothering me,” she started.

  I let her take her time as I saw she was struggling to express what she wanted to let me know. It took her a few minutes to gather her thoughts.

  “When I was in isolation I had very confusing feelings about my dad. I can't really tell any of the leadership but I also didn't want to put you in an awkward position. I still don't want to do that, but I need to talk to someone. You know I'm loyal, right?”

  I nodded. I felt she was genuinely convinced about her own loyalty to us Sensorians. I didn't doubt her at all.

  “The thing is, that even though I want my father stopped, I don't want him to get sentenced to death. How am I going to reconcile these feelings Zaph? I'm scared I'm going to compromise the mission somehow and that is the last thing I want. I know how important it is.”

  I thought for a moment before answering. I had suspected she was having an internal struggle about something, and she was right about one thing. If the leadership heard about it they wouldn't fully trust her.

  “You have to do what feels right for you, Eliza. You can do your best to somehow rescue your father out of this, but in the end it is our law. You have to decide if you can live with that if it did come to it. Ultimately it's out of your hands and you have to decide whether you want to help us or not. It's not an easy decision to make and don't blame yourself for feeling the way you do.”

  I wasn't sure how much that had helped her, but I think that at least being able to speak about it had lightened her worries a little, as she appeared visibly less tense.

  She nodded her head deliberately, as if she was going over everything I'd just said, letting her brain digest it.

  “Please don't tell anyone.”

  She looked worried.

  “Don't offend me by even asking that.” I scoffed. But though I knew I could keep this from Markus, Michael and Laura, I feared if Zack ever had to question me about this I wouldn't be able to lie to him. I hoped it was never going to come to that.

  CHAPTER 14

  Eliza

  “Before we discuss plans concerning Rick, I want you to explore your VH abilities. I have arranged a meeting with Rob Saunders. Remember him? The guy in the wheelchair you saw before you went into isolation?” Zack asked, just minutes after we arrived back at the compound. I suspected he wanted to catch me off guard.

  I nodded, though the last time I saw Rob he was in such a state I doubted I would recognise him.

  “He's a Vision Hacker too and damned good at it. He might be able to convince you to develop your skill as he'll be able to tell you how useful it's been for him.”

  Zack's plan had worked. Before I even had time to think about it and reject the idea, I was sat across from Rob in one of our small meeting rooms. Saunders was much better looking and younger than I envisaged when I remember his beaten up face. Probably in his late twenties at the most. His face, not pretty like a catalogue model, but rugged with strong features. A couple of red raw scars were still clearly visible around his left eye, but it didn't distract from his looks. In fact it quite suited the rather tall and broad man.

  I looked out for signs he emitted that could be warning me about his intentions, but he had a clean scent and his body language was open and trustworthy. I didn't even know why I was being so suspicious. I decided to give him a chance.

  “Tell me about your VH experiences. How did they make you feel?” Rob asked in his deep, warm voice, making me feel instantly at ease.

  “They were very short and made me feel...,” I struggled to find the right words for a moment, but Rob waited patiently. “...I dunno, unsettled and out of control, I suppose. I can't see
how they could ever be of use to me. It sort of just happened, I didn't do anything to make it happen.”

  “It did feel disconcerting to me too when they first happened,” Rob confessed. “But now I'm in full control of them and it has been an amazing tool in investigations and keeping me safe.”

  “Apart from your last mission,” I interjected.

  He looked a bit put out. I felt mean bringing it up.

  “Yeah, didn't see that coming, and by the time I did, it was too late.”

  “So, how did you gain control over it and how do you use it. Do you have to be in physical contact or does it work differently for you?” I asked eagerly.

  “Hey, hey, Zack was right. You do bombard people with questions, don't you? Remember your training Eliza.”

  I slowed down my breathing and started again.

  “Fair point. Tell me what you think I need to know then, please?”

  “To start with it happened randomly, but usually when I was in some sort of state of distress. Like you, it only happened when I physically touched someone and it wasn't much use to me at all. I decided to practise on my friends to see if it was possible to gain some sort of control over it. I found a way to trigger it, and the more I used it, the better my control got. Now I can just switch to someone's vision at will, without any physical contact. It's taken a long time to get as skilled as I am now, but the practise initially was relatively quick. You just need to find your trigger and be able to tune into it.”

  “That sounds far easier than it probably is,” I sighed. “And anyway, I still can't quite see the benefit of it. How's it actually going to help me?”

  Rob looked at me quite indignantly.

  “Don't be so reluctant. You're better than that,” he gently scolded.