The Infected [Books 1-6]

by P. S. Power

  He thought he had the idea. Brian was, even if it wasn't his power, going to take him somewhere. What would happen at that point, he had no clue, but Brian always had to fight, didn't he? So if Tobin were going too, that probably meant he wouldn't have a lot of choice. It was time for him to do his part.

  "All right." He didn't have time to ask more questions, either, since the other man had been totally correct.

  It hurt. It wasn't just a little discomfort either, like sticking a single hand over a fire. It was a total body experience. A skin searing, eye watering jolt of pain that made the inside of his teeth ache so much he felt like crying. It was fast though, so when he could stand on his own, Brian letting him go, it was clear what had to happen.

  There were a few hundred people there, and no signs. That meant they weren't there to just chant and complain. It was in front of a small house that seemed like it had seen better days, and a woman was being pulled out by her hair. Her nice blonde hair. It was a good neighborhood, but the chanting of the crowd was too loud to understand more than the woman's screams.

  "Help me!"

  Tobin did. He stood and sang for all he was worth, as Brian dodged through the crowd, finding his way to the woman, who was being stripped forcefully by nearly twenty men. They were too far away for him to influence, so he walked, trying to close the distance, moving around the sitting people that could hear his words. It took forever to get close, and he was slowing Brian the whole time, but the man kept moving, even as he staggered and responded to things that weren't there. The attackers stopped and went down though, with a few being killed as they fell, since Brian had his little knife, and used it without hesitation.

  Then, without much warning, he slapped the all black blade to his chest and turned into an old man. One that was holding a stick of some kind. A broom handle. He went down under the power of the song too, but Tobin jogged to him. After all, if Proxy takes your place, you were about to die. There were no exceptions to that rule that he knew about. That probably meant that the man had been about to try and take on the hundred or so angry men and women to help the woman who was lying on the grass, currently stunned.

  By himself.

  With a stick.

  It was hard to drag him and the lady away while singing, since both were larger than he was, meaning they were partially on the ground the whole time. Some of the mob managed to get up, and a few moved far enough back that they were avoiding the effect. He could only make himself so loud after all. Then, almost as if planned, news trucks showed up, as he tried to get away from the danger. That meant he had to stop singing as they climbed out. Or more to the point, allow his voice to become softer and taper the song off, so that the people with him would just recover, not be hit with a full withdrawal, since that hurt, if he had it right.

  It took work, but by placing an arm around the waist of each of the taller people, or under their behinds, really, he managed to scoop them both up and awkwardly shuffle away. It wasn't fast, but it was better than standing around, waiting for the mob to get their feet under them. Some did, which meant that about a minute later, the woman looking very scared and the black man a bit angry, he had to stop.

  After all, if it was going to be a fight, he couldn't do that and carry people, could he?

  "You two run. I'll try and hold them here." It actually sounded pretty brave, but the old man, who was breathing hard, just from being carried, a wheezy sound that probably meant he had a disease, shook his head.

  "You that one from the news? Toby Pete?"

  That got a nod. It was close enough for the moment.

  "Right. Go."

  "Boy, I can't run. I wouldn't make it fifty feet. You take the woman and go. I'll do what I can here." There were two things in his voice, his old and weathered face looking hard. One was a sternness that spoke of not backing down. The other was a certainty that he was going to die that day.

  It was almost certainly true too. He shook his head at the man however.

  "I can hold them off bet-" He stopped dead, since the woman, who still seemed to be panicking, had run to a car. It was a nice one, but a few years old, just parked on the street. That meant it was normally a decent place to live, when there weren't angry mobs around. Otherwise she couldn't have done that. To get to it she'd had to run back into the crowd, and people were recovering enough to pound on it, managing to break the back window, which got her to scream. She didn't stop, just yelling as she got close enough.

  "Get in! Hurry!" The pretty face looked determined, but so frightened that he could see the whites all the way around the blue, very clearly, even from ten feet away.

  Tobin had to pick the man up again, but could use both arms this time, and somehow got him stuffed into the back of the vehicle, managing to jump in the front as the crowd started to catch up to them, hitting things again. It wasn't a lot of them, because even at fifteen miles per hour, most couldn't keep up. That meant that it was mainly the younger men. Most had TCC shirts on, that or little flag lapel pins, like the ones that everyone wore each day at the IPB.

  The woman stepped on the gas, her very plain white t-shirt ripped in several places. She was wearing a pair of stretch shorts, but they had been nearly ripped off too. There was a large bruise, and a bloody patch on her forehead, from being hit at least a few times. That and the fact that she was crying were all he knew about her.

  "We're going to want to get some distance. Please." He spoke softly and she answered the same way.

  "Where can we go?"

  Tobin didn't know. He didn't even have a clue where they were at the moment. So he asked, getting the man from the back to laugh hollowly.

  "Burbank. My brother lives just ahead. He ain't too big on Infected folk, but I can get out of your hair, if you're safe enough? I saw this lady being attacked and tried to do what I could. It wasn't much. I musta blacked out for a bit. Then you were there and I was seeing colors. I don't feel like anyone hit me, but they must have."

  Tobin didn't know what to say, but turned to look at the fellow and then shrugged.

  "Proxy took your place and brought me with him, which he's never done before. Thank you. There were hundreds of people, and as far as I could tell you were the only one trying to stop it from happening. It was really brave."

  After coughing for a bit, the man wheezed again.

  "Yeah, people get scared. I'm too old for this crap anymore. Korea was a long time ago, but the mind fools you into thinking that you can handle things. Let me out up here. I was headed this way when I saw that back there."

  The woman, freaked or not, spoke clearly enough, her voice sounding cultured.

  "Thank you. What's your name?"

  "Tom. Tom Hayes. It wasn't anything." It was a lie of course and the man was still breathing hard, but she stopped at the right place, while Tobin got out, searching behind them for pursuit. There didn't seem to be anything yet, thankfully. After Tom got into the place he was headed to, just opening the door like he lived there, Tobin got back in, and the woman drove.

  "Why did they do that? I was in my house. I never bother anyone at all. There was a knock, and it didn't stop, but when I answered they grabbed me and started hurting me. I didn't do anything! I swear. I'm not a criminal or anything."

  "I don't know. I was in a meeting when Brian, Proxy, grabbed me and this happened." That was all he could think of to say, but the woman kept driving, apparently aimlessly, and finally pulled over about half an hour later.

  "We should go to the police, or... I don't know. The Army?"

  He shook his head, since him going to the police right then would probably end up with him being shot, and the Army didn't come for civil unrest in the main. Especially this kind. No, that was actually his job.

  "I can get help... We need a phone." There wasn't one in the car, even if it was nice enough for it. Too nice for the neighborhood it had been sitting in. She didn't have one tucked in a pocket either, since if she'd started with any of those, they were gon
e now. Everyone that had held her also tried to strip her bare. Why that was he didn't know. The woman didn't say anything, just crying, sitting behind the wheel, holding the black vinyl so hard her knuckles turned white.

  Then she turned on the radio. Why, he had no clue, but it was really instructive. The man said something that put everything into perspective instantly.

  "I'm at the scene of a small riot, here in Burbank, California... It seems to have been generated when an anti-Infected group called 'Purity' gave the name and address of Nicole Poures, outting her as Infected. It does seem that this is the same Nicole Poures that's the daughter of multi-billionaire Richard Poures. The call to attack her is on the site, but so far no one knows where she is. She may be dead." He went on, but the rest was mainly about things that they already knew.

  "Well. That explains a lot. Proxy's power probably got me here to help you specifically. I'm Tobin. You're Nikki?"

  The woman sniffed, her nose sounding a bit runny, and she nodded, her nearly forty year old face free of makeup or any trappings of civilization.

  "Yes. I... I'm Infected. I...You probably don't want to be seen with me. I can..." What that was she didn't get to, because she stopped, as if really seeing him for the first time. "Oh."

  He actually chuckled and then winked at her, not feeling that confident at all. A phone would really be good, but the odds of finding a payphone in this century seemed pretty remote. Burbank though...

  "Can you get to your parents house from here? Do you have enough gas?" Stopping would be a problem after all. He doubted that she had her wallet on her, but after looking at the gages, she nodded.

  "If traffic isn't too bad?"

  "That's the place to go. They'll be able to hide you for a bit, while we work out what to do. I can't believe she did that." He clarified without waiting. "Braid. She's... I guess she's basically an insane super mastermind that wants to start a war. I thought that I'd prevented her from going after you like this, but... I can't keep track of it all. This is really hard."

  Now that he knew who she was, he could see bits of her mother in her. Chris was there too, in the looks and mannerisms. Nikki had a much bigger nose however. He kind of liked it. It made her seem more normal and less like there should be cameras around. She had to turn the car around, and no one followed them, or tried to stop them in any way, but it was a long trip, since they took a lot of side streets. She assured him that it would be a lot faster, this time of day.

  "I hate driving. I... Don't deal with people very well. I'm shy."

  That got Tobin to smile.

  "I know. Me too." The news was all about the attack and what had been seen, as well as live coverage of a rather angry sounding Tom on the phone with Fox news.

  "I cannot believe that anyone would do that to a woman. I don't care if she's Infected or not, men ain't supposed to beat on ladies like that. Those dead men deserved it, doing what they were. If it weren't for that Proxy, that woman would be dead. That and that Toby fellow. He saved my life. Carried both of us out of there."

  That got clarified so that everyone would know it was Tobin Peterson, the Goblin.

  "I really hate that name. Goblin. I guess it fits, but that doesn't make it any better. It sounds creepy, doesn't it? Like I'm going to sit in a swamp all day and eat children."

  "A little. You sing? I heard you, but I mean, like, on the radio?"

  They had a nice little conversation about that, which was new to her, since she didn't really listen to new music that often. Then the conversation died, because, shocker, two people with chronic shyness didn't do very well keeping things like that going, did they? Tobin didn't mind that much, but the woman next to him got increasingly uneasy.

  "I... My parents have money. They'll give you a reward. For helping me. Is that okay? Or... I don't know, what do you want? That... you had no reason to do that. You could have just left me. A lot of people would. Once they knew I was, you know, like I am."

  "You mean like me?" He waved at himself, but smiled. It was really like she just kept forgetting. It was kind of nice, to tell the truth, like being a full human being or something. "I would have helped whoever was there. Proxy would have too. A good thing we got to you in time, because I bet that if you died back there, some very bad things would happen, and a war would start. A real one. We need to get to a phone fast. If the IPB isn't already trying to track down that web-site and 'Purity'. I bet that they find nothing."

  The woman drove for a bit, but glanced at him quickly, her nervous eyes going back to the road almost instantly.

  "How would killing me start a war?"

  "I don't know. Christian is really powerful, so that might have been it, or your parents could finance some anti-hate group hit squads. Or the whole thing might have been twisted to make the Infected look bad somehow. It wouldn't be the first time. We don't really have a voice in the media. Maybe it wasn't that at all. I just don't know. Thankfully it didn't work." At least it hadn't yet. It was a good thing, so far.

  "Oh." She wiped at her hair, which was more dishwater than honey in color, and a bit stringy, now that he had a chance to really see it. "Chrissy... I don't think that she'd do anything. I haven't talked to her for years. She can read minds... I didn't want her to know about me."

  Tobin didn't let himself make any noises, or seem derisive. A whole lot of Infected felt the same way, and just because it wasn't rational, well, that wouldn't make it less important to the woman next to him.

  "About you being Infected? She knows about that. So do your parents. You told them though, right? If they know then she'd eventually find out. I don't think she can block out thoughts all the time. To answer your question, she'd do something. I don't know what, but you're her sister." It seemed likely at least. It probably wouldn't be anything gentle or kind either. Not if that was what Braid had been going for.

  "Maybe. I don't know. I guess... I was stupid this whole time. I just, didn't want anyone to know. Mainly because I didn't want this to happen. So irrational fears, one. Common sense, zero." She seemed a lot more calm finally, and subdued, but not wild eyed, or so edgy that she couldn't drive safely. "I guess you get the idea?"

  "Yeah." He went soft himself. "I wish I could do that. Hide as a normal person. As it is I have to hunch down in the seat, just to ride down the road so we won't be stopped and harassed."

  That seemed to be good enough for the woman, for a while. She was clearly thinking though, and spoke after a bit, sounding more questioning about things.

  "Wait... You said that you thought that you'd already stopped this? How? Time travel?"

  That got him to smile at least and he felt a bit giddy, for some unknown reason.

  "No. I... Guess I should go into everything. It's a bit hard to track, because I think that I'm missing big parts of things, but ..."

  "Okay. There's a woman, who comes from a different reality, named Devorah Timberland-Moore. Her whole family over there has super precognition. So they know everything before it happens. It drives them nuts though. I guess they all try to fix the future so that there's only one, and in their world it's less of a problem, because there are so many of them they kind of stop each other. It keeps things more or less in balance from what I hear.

  "Here, we just have her on one side and Proxy on the other. I think, and I don't know this really, that his power is trying to stop her from starting a massive war where millions die. So a lot of things in the world right now, the big ones, and some of the small, are part of this battle between those two. It goes back decades too, since Proxy can time travel a bit. He doesn't control it, so it isn't that useful."

  He waited for a question, but nothing came.

  "Okay. So, about twenty years ago, your sister Christian, got pregnant by some baseball player."

  "Wait... Ryan Castiaz? He and I used to date... That witch!" She didn't really seem angry though, just sighing and shaking her head. "Well, that wasn't the first boyfriend of mine that she stole."

  "Yeah,
I think that's the name. So anyway, Braid went to her, and got her to give the baby up for adoption, in order to set all this in motion. That was probably part of her power. Braid's. Saying just the right things to get her to do it and all that. It was just found out that we both work at the IPB a week ago, so last night I was at your parent's house and they offered me a lot of money, which I didn't take, trying to keep you from being discovered. That, clearly, didn't work."

  He waited for the woman to freak out, or deny it, or something, but she just drove, glancing at him every now and then.

  "This is the way you have to live all the time? That's... really complicated."

  "I know. It's probably worse for Brian and Braid. The big problem here is that, no matter what you and I do, we can't really be sure that it isn't part of some greater plan. Even going to your parents might be the wrong move, but I can't think of anything else at the moment. This is... Annoying." He smiled though, trying for a cute little grin. She didn't look at him at all, so it didn't matter.

  "I guess my quiet life is over then, if everyone knows now. Damn it."

  "Is it? You were attacked, and didn't shoot ice beams or produce a rain of frogs." Unless he counted as that? "Having a social anxiety disorder isn't a crime. Just a pain. The accusation is out, but you being attacked isn't exactly the same as you being Infected. It's part of why I turned the money down. This way you only have one Infected relative, which means that people will look at you less than if you had two."

  It made more sense now, given everything.

  The woman made a face and then shook her head, "no, it's time for me to admit what I really am. I have money, and that can buy protection. I'm scared though, Toby. What if they come for me again?"

  He didn't have a real answer for her. The fact was, very soon, they would. At least if anyone could prove she was Infected. Shaking his head he sighed.