A Question of Will

by Alex Albrinck

  Will reached his tree, which was still healing from the blasts of the Aliomenti fighting craft, and he felt a huge surge of Energy into him. The Energy pulsed, and then Will felt a sense of displacement. Then he was back at the tree outside the new camp. He immediately Shielded his Energy and sprinted back to the clearing. He found Fil and Adam having a hushed conversation, but both of their faces relaxed upon seeing Will.

  “Where have you been?” Adam asked. “I was going to restart your lessons, because Angel said you were probably ready, but I couldn’t sense your Energy at all. I’m sure that your Shielding skills have improved, but I should be able to find you in camp at this short distance regardless.”

  “I teleported. Back to the old camp. Listen, though—”

  “You did what?” Fil asked, his voice venomous. “Who taught you how to teleport? And how did you travel so far in your first effort?”

  “Nobody taught me, it just happened, and I don’t know how. There was a spot in the forest there where I liked to go, and I pictured it and thought about how nice it would be to be there again, and there I was.”

  Fil was shaking his head. “You’re out of control. You must learn to discipline your use of Energy.”

  “Right, I know, but understand this. I think...I think I surged some Energy while I was there, because...well...”

  “Because one of the Hunters showed up?” Adam asked. Will nodded. “I noticed the intensity of the Energy there right before they discovered our previous campsite. We’ll get back to that point, but right now, it’s more urgent that we understand what happened with the Hunters. Tell us.”

  “Porthos showed up first.” Based on the facial reactions, this was no surprise. “He taunted me about losing my touch and him finding me so quickly again. Aramis showed up and put his hands on me, and I felt my Energy waning rapidly, but I elbowed him hard in the stomach and got away. Then Athos showed up and tried to restrain me so Aramis could get me again; I head-butted him, broke loose, wished I was back, and here I stand. My Shield went up the instant I arrived.”

  “You idiot!” Fil seethed. “If you only Shielded when you arrived here, they may be able to track you here because your Energy signal was so strong. We’re going to need to move camp again! And so help me, if Angel or anyone else suffers an injury again due to your carelessness, I will knock you out cold and deliver you to the Hunters myself!”

  Adam glared at Fil, and Will was taken aback. “I...I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry. I’m trying to learn everything, but...maybe it’s all happening too fast.”

  “No excuses,” Fil snapped. “You’ve been putting us in jeopardy since you got here, not to mention the severe risk we took in rescuing you to begin with. I...”

  “Why rescue me, then?” Will asked, fuming. “I’ve always wondered that. The Hunters thought I was somebody I wasn’t; maybe I’m better able to pull off the act of being that man now with the Energy training I’ve had. But they seem to think I’m some super criminal, breaking all of their rules. I’m not that guy. I’m nobody. Why rescue me?”

  Fil’s teeth clenched. “Everybody makes mistakes.” He turned and left.

  Adam watched him leave. “You must understand. In our world, Will Stark is basically a god. He was exceptionally powerful, drove many of our innovations, and in many ways formed us into what we are today. Others abused his ideas; the concept of not marrying wasn’t one done as an excuse to murder innocent humans, for example. It was meant to ensure that such an important commitment wasn’t made without ensuring that the new spouse was capable of handling the truth of what we are, and integrating in some fashion with our society without exposing our existence, and possibly endangering our lives. Think of the men and women you consider heroes, Will. If you thought they were in danger...wouldn’t you go rescue them if you had the ability to do so?”

  Will let out a deep breath. “I wish I knew what that guy has against me.”

  “Who? Fil?”

  “Yes. You seem friendly enough. Angel treats me far better than I — or anyone else, for that matter — actually deserve. Fil seems to feel a genuine hatred for me. Is it because I’m not this superhero legend, and he’s blaming me for only being who I truly am?”

  “He doesn’t hate you, Will. Your presence, though, reminds him of several of the most painful experiences in his life, and he’ll need to be the one to explain. I will tell you, though, that he, too, lost a wife and young child — a daughter — to an Aliomenti Assassin. He had to watch them die, Will. Your experience...well, it was a bit too close to his experience, and triggered memories he’s tried to bury.”

  Will lowered his head. “I had no idea. It certainly proves those men are evil, though.”

  Adam raised a hand. “You didn’t know, and I request that you seem astonished anew when Fil decides to let you know about that painful part of his life, even though I doubt he ever will. As you might imagine, he doesn’t like to think about it or discuss it.”

  Will glanced up. “Did they somehow damage his eyes?”

  Adam frowned. “His eyes? No, I don’t think they did. Why do you ask?”

  “I was wondering why he always wears those sunglasses.”

  Adam smiled. “He’ll tell you that particular story when he’s ready. But it’s something that only he can choose to share.” He turned to leave. “I was thinking of doing a lesson, but it was to be about teleportation and it would appear you’ve got the basics down. Perhaps we can pick up in the morning?”

  Will nodded. Adam walked away.

  Will moved away from the buildings and headed into the woods. His foolishness and lack of concentration had nearly gotten Angel killed and uprooted the community once, and might well do so again. His presence caused Fil great pain. Adam was uncomfortable working with him, a fact Will had pieced together with his telepathic and empathic skills during several of their lessons. Adam simply was not certain how to deal with someone like Will, who tried to cram years of training and growth into days or hours, and who spontaneously started practicing new and different skills without guidance or consultation.

  And he might bring the Hunters down on them again. He wouldn’t let that happen, and risk the possibility that this time, someone like Angel would be hurt — and not survive the injuries.

  He’d fought the Hunters to regain his freedom, but he wouldn’t keep if it meant others would lose theirs. The Alliance members — Angel, Adam, and even Fil, surly though the man could be — were his family now. He’d lost one family through his own failure, and he wasn’t about to have another be lost for the same reason.

  Will made it back to his spot in the woods, and once again pictured his tree with its burned-out limbs, struggling to work its way back to health. He pictured himself being by his tree, and unlocked his Shield enough to power the teleportation effort. He was not surprised this time to find himself back outside their old camp. Nor was he much surprised to see Porthos still there, trying to piece together the Energy patterns that would tell him where Will had gone after teleporting away.

  “Miss me?”

  Porthos whirled. “No, you aren’t around long enough for me to miss. And I expect you to stay in our prison for a very long time when I finally capture you; I won’t miss you then, either. I don’t really like you running off like that, however, because it makes it so difficult to track you effectively when you keep moving so quickly.”

  Will nodded. “I agree. I’m giving myself up.”

  Porthos’ eyes widened and he stared at Will. “Stark, you can’t possibly expect me to believe you.”

  Will walked toward him. “Here I am. Take me to your Leader. Bring Aramis to subdue me if you want. I’m not going anywhere and I won’t resist.”

  Porthos felt an incredible sense of elation, and a smile formed on his face.

  After all of the years, all of the Hunts, all of the failures...he would finally see Will Stark brought to justice.

  XXI

  Headquarters

  Adam str
etched as he woke after a restful night’s sleep. The argument between Will and Fil yesterday was still on his mind, and he sensed that it had broken Will’s spirit a bit, more than anything had since his arrival in camp following his rescue from the Hunters. The two men had argued before, but Will had been more assertive, more combative in the previous encounters. The man was now so concerned that he was a threat to the safety of the others in the Alliance camp that he had no desire to further develop his Energy abilities. That was a problem. As a member of the Alliance, he needed to have those abilities well-developed should he ever encounter the Hunters or other Aliomenti who might find him and try to subdue him. Will had escaped yesterday, probably because the Hunters were so surprised to see him. There was no guarantee he’d be so lucky again.

  On the positive side, Will had been eager the day before to practice teleportation, and Adam had been impressed that he’d had so quickly developed the Energy stores needed for that skill. He knew many long-term Aliomenti who could barely teleport a few hundred yards, and Will had managed a greater distance in just over a month.

  He needed to figure out how, exactly, Will was building his Energy so quickly. It was simply unnatural.

  To be sure, the Aliomenti all knew that there was some type of genetic component that could predict how quickly someone would develop. In the early days, before they had the ability to supplement their development with nanos — most notably through the Purge — their group had politely expelled slower-developing members, but that was before the Oaths had been written and penalties defined and enforced. Today, the Alliance could focus on recruiting people of high character and motivation first, and supplement their genetic potential.

  In this case, perhaps they had supplemented somebody who already had a powerful genetic potential and capability; after all, they didn’t scan for that anymore. Was that the explanation for Will’s rapid growth? Adam rather doubted it. Still, whatever it was, it had caught them all completely off guard. They shouldn’t have needed to worry about Shielding or accidental teleportation or anything of the sort for years. He knew Will blamed himself, but the rest of the Alliance, men and women with far more experience in such matters, had been blind to the implications of his growth as well. They needed to be more cautious and patient with his training, and make him more aware of the implications of his progress. Lesson learned.

  Speaking of lessons, he needed to find Will.

  He mulled over how best to handle the teleportation lesson. The odd thing with teleportation was that once you’d done it, doing it when intended wasn’t a huge issue, outside learning techniques for going somewhere you hadn’t been previously or how to plan for the Energy drain from an exceptionally long trip. The challenge was preventing the kind of unintended “hop” Will Stark had experienced the day before, brought on by lack of focus and control over the Energy required to move. Keeping Energy tightly bound, as would happen when Shielding, tended to prevent the issue, but emotional situations would crack that focus, release the Energy, and put the person at risk. So they’d need to review those concepts.

  Adam approached Will’s building. He should probably gift Will the nanos comprising what had become Will’s home, and request a new batch from the Mechanic as a replacement. Will had a small number of nanos already, but was probably ready for a more standard allocation. That would be another lesson for another day, however, so he elected not to make the gift until they’d done more work with the machines.

  Adam frowned as he neared the building. Will should be inside, but he detected no Energy there. Even if Will was Shielding, he should be able to sense the presence of at least some Energy in the room. Adam smiled. Perhaps their prodigy had taken Shielding to a new level. He should raise the idea to the Alliance of letting the Aliomenti know about their Shielding skills. The thought of those tyrants thinking they could walk right past someone from the Alliance without knowing it was priceless.

  Adam walked into the building. There was no sign of Will.

  Perhaps he’d gone for a walk in the woods. Will seemed to enjoy the tranquility to be found among the dense forests surrounding their clearings. Adam remembered that Will had lived in a wooded community, and that his home had been surrounded by large, old trees. It made sense that he’d experience a sense of home in the forest.

  Adam walked into the woods, circling farther and farther from camp. He detected some Energy readings, fairly strong, and while he found a clearing with a few smaller trees, he found no sign of Will Stark.

  Very curious.

  Adam walked back to the camp and approached the building Fil and Angel shared. He walked in; the interior of their building was a bit more elaborate than most, and featured two private rooms along with a public area anyone could enter. He found Fil there, deep in thought.

  “Have you seen Will?” Adam asked without preamble.

  Fil laughed. “I truly doubt Will Stark would willingly associate with me at this point. On that note, no, I haven’t seen him since last night, when he nearly put everyone in camp at risk once again. I haven’t forgiven him yet for so nearly killing my sister the last time he failed to focus.”

  “Duly noted. We’ll make sure in the future that we handle Shielding a month into training, though few need such skills until they’ve been at it for five years...if they’re lucky.”

  “Save the sarcasm, Adam. Your sister wasn’t the one who nearly bled to death.”

  “Speaking of Angel, has she seen Will?”

  “I haven’t,” she answered, emerging from her room. “I thought he’d be having a lesson with you.”

  “That was the plan. I checked his building, and looked for him in the forest. There’s a spot with a bit of an Energy buildup — not enough to attract any attention.” Adam added the last bit quickly when Fil looked ready to explode again. “But that’s the closest thing to a sign of him. Do either of you have any sense of where he might be?”

  Both Fil and Angel closed their eyes in concentration. Adam watched Fil. Though the man hid it well, his Energy levels were exceptionally high, and he was more likely to find something than anyone else. Angel’s Energy levels were extraordinary as well, though nowhere near the levels of Fil. She was more empathic than her older brother, and more likely to sense what Will was thinking even without actually invading his thoughts.

  Angel opened her eyes. “I’m not getting anything besides a faint Energy marker in the woods outside the camp. That’s probably what you found, Adam.” Adam nodded. “My concern, though, is the mental state he was in. He seemed very depressed, and his conversations with me... I got the sense that he feared he was a danger to us and he didn’t like that.” She took a deep breath. “That, combined with the fact that we can’t find him...I’m concerned he’s essentially run off on his own. That he left the camp so he can’t risk any harm to any of us anymore.”

  Adam’s eyes widened. “I hope you’re wrong.”

  “So do I. But his pain and his fear were genuine. I heard him blaming himself for the situation at his house while he was sleeping in those first few days. Kept saying it was his fault, that he’d let them be killed...his greatest fear is doing that again. If I’m wrong, we need to impress upon him that we’ll work with him, but we don’t want him running off.” She looked straight at Fil, but her brother was still in deep concentration.

  A few moments later, Fil opened his eyes and cursed.

  “That idiot!” he seethed. He turned to Angel. “I think you’re too late on that idea. He’s run off, all right.” He looked at Adam. “He teleported from that spot in the woods near here. That was the Energy burst you detected. He showed up back in the woods by our previous camp, again, where he’d met the Hunters before. Unfortunately, one of them was there.”

  “Porthos,” Adam said. It wasn’t a question.

  “I get no Energy sense of either of them now. Porthos is powerful enough that I could pick him up in that location from here if I concentrate, and he’s never learned to Shield, or bothered if
he knows how. But he’s gone. And so is Will.”

  Angel’s eyes widened. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that we can go check that spot, but all signs point to that stubborn idiot either being captured, or turning himself in to the Hunters.”

  This time, nobody beat him up or tried to kill him. At least, not yet.

  A craft arrived in the clearing, driven by Athos. He stared at Will Stark, his face a mix of emotions. It was one part triumphant, one part fear of sudden and tremendous disappointment.

  Will had not put up any type of fight at all. He sat in the craft, which was clearly not as well-built as the Alliance nano-based vehicles, nor as gentle on takeoff and landing. Will looked out the window as the craft rose into the air. He saw massive forests behind him, and eventually a huge body of water appeared on the horizon in front. Will realized he still had no idea where on the planet he’d been living for the past two months. Right now, he didn’t much care.

  The craft flew out over the body of water, and soon there was nothing to see but gentle rolling waves. Athos and Porthos both tried questioning him, but Will ignored them, focusing on nothing but the motion of the water below. Eventually, the Hunters gave up and left him alone.

  After they’d traveled over water for several hours, Will finally saw land. It was an island, fairly large, with beautiful beaches around the perimeter. The buildings were glass and metal, and looked remarkably new and clean, as did the streets forming a patchwork as they moved inland from the beaches.

  The craft flew over those beaches and buildings and roads, and Will noticed in an offhand manner that, despite it being midday with clear skies, there were very few people out on the beaches, or even out on the streets of the island. Odd.

  The craft was heading for the middle of the island, and Will noticed a much taller building, one that appeared to be formed of a black marble exterior, polished and gleaming in the sunlight. But it was the name emblazoned across the top that got his attention more than all else.