The river wasn't exactly what Alison expected. In her mind, she imagined something like the Mississippi; a grey-blue stretch of water cutting its way through the land. The river here was muddy brown. The water moved slow enough to wade across and was narrow enough to do it easily. All along the riverbed were what resembled homes. The lean-tos were built out of discarded trash and often were only a roof and poles. Here, like at the fountain, women were washing their clothes in the water. Further upstream children were playing, and adults were bathing. There were so many people here that Alison doubted they'd find the Pandey family or at least the right Pandey family.
Jess turned the car around and searched for a secluded spot to park. When she found it, she stopped and said to Alison, “Get ready.” Then to herself she began mumbling in a language that Alison had never heard.
The car shook a little then a light surrounded them, and a noise filled the air. Suddenly it was gone, and Jess sat there with a mischievous smile on her face. She rolled down the window, and a bird landed on the edge of the glass. Alison thought of it as a bird because it had wings, talons and a beak, but that was where the similarities ended. Its feathers were short and stubby. They were green and shimmered like pearls or maybe like scales. Its eyes were set more in front than to the side. In fact, as Alison looked at it she changed her opinion and thought it was closer to a dragon.
“Meet Fugen,” Jess said.
The little dragon-like creature shifted to look at Alison. It spread its wings and made a croaking sound.
“I imagined he'd be bigger,” Alison said.
“He's whatever he needs to be,” Jess told her, “depending on the job. Problem is that I can't seem to convince him to look like an ordinary animal. I'm not sure if it's pride or because he just can't.”
Fugen took a jab with his beak, almost hitting Jess on the side of the head.
“Don't be a baby,” Jess said to the creature and opened the car door. Fugen was startled from his perch. “Come on we'll use Fugen as a scout.”
The women headed to the river and began walking along the waterway. It was obvious they didn't belong. Quickly, the two became the focus of the river town. Children were gathering in groups as well as adults. A cluster of kids were running around them talking and laughing.
“Anything we should worry about?” Alison asked.
“They think we're journalists,” Jess replied. “Folks out here don't know anything about The One, but they know journalists. They’re used to Westerners coming by, taking photos and giving them treats.”
“We don't have any treats,” Alison said worried.
“You haven't worked with kids much have you?” Jess questioned. “Treat doesn't always mean candy.” She waved her hand in the air. Fugen was circling high overhead, and he swooped down when he saw Jess. He came down brushing the children's heads then back up in an arc to land gently on Jess's arm. The kids who weren't startled were fascinated. An American kid would have known that a creature like Fugen was abnormal. These kids had no preconception and so, no fear. Fugen seemed to be soaking up the attention as he strutted back and forth along Jess's arm. He let his wings stretch out as far as they could go and flapped to the excitement of the children.
One of the kids asked something, and Jess answered, “Fugen.”
He tried to pronounce the name then asked another question. Before Jess could answer, Fugen had hopped into the air and landed on the boy's head. The children started laughing hysterically.
Jess let the laughter die down and ask the crowd a question. The boy pointed up the river and said something else. At that, Fugen took off again, and Jess thanked them.
“I'm guessing we got what we were looking for?” Alison asked.
“Yup,” Jess answered. “The boy knows the family. He said they were up the river earlier this morning. They'll be the only ones without children.”
“That doesn't sound good,” Alison said.
“Yeah,” Jess said softly. “I hate thinking about these countries as barbaric; it's so ethnocentric, but sometimes the things they do out here… Sometimes The Lost Ones get drown as babies. It gets more and more common as western ideals push out Hindu beliefs.”
Jess was somber on the way up the river. Finding the Pandeys was straightforward. Fugen was circling over an oddly empty section of the area. The other families were keeping their distance. The Pandeys were sitting under a leaf thatched shelter staring at the passing water. Casually, Jess walked into their line of sight and looked out at the river.
Jess turned to them and said in Hindi, “I've come in search of special children to take home with me.”
“Why? Why do you do this?” The husband asked.
“It is my mission to find them and take them to my home,” Jess said, “where we keep them safe from the people who might hurt them.”
“Home?” The wife asked.
“A big place,” Jess replied, “far from here. There are many of us. We take care of each other.”
“What kind of special children are you looking for?” The husband asked.
Jess's voice turned serious. “Today I come for your daughter, but I don't see her anywhere.”
The wife let out a soft sob, and the husband turned his head to the ground. “She was sick,” he said after a moment. “She would not eat or sleep. We could not help her, so we took her to the hospital. They said they would take care of her there.”
Jess nodded to Alison to get moving. She said nothing to the Pandeys as they left. They were almost to the car when she finally spoke.
“It's hard not to hate them,” Jess said.
“I had a Sergeant back in America,” Alison told her. “He hated the Norms for how they treated us. He also hated The Lost Ones for... Well, I'm not sure for what, but he hated a lot of things.”
“It's just ignorance I tell myself,” Jess said, “They didn't mean anything by it.”
“They drown the girl didn't they?” Alison asked hesitantly.
“No,” Jess said sighing. “She's in what's basically a sanitarium. The place they send everyone they don't know what to do with. I suppose it's better than prison, like they did in England way back when.”
“Sanitarium? You mean like a nut house?” Alison was getting agitated.
“With a little less therapy and a little more restraints,” Jess replied.
“That's... That's the same thing as a prison,” Alison was almost yelling. “The only difference is you never know when you're getting out. We have to get her.”
“It's all the way in the city. We won't get there till night,” Jess said, but Alison didn't look like she cared. “Yeah, you're right. No point leaving her there any longer than necessary.”
This time, as Jess sped along the road, Alison wished she would go faster. She was beginning to understand how her old Sergeant and Jess felt. People went around doing whatever they wanted, living their lives and making choices, but they never bothered to educate themselves. They never asked why or found out what they should do. Instead, they kicked people like her to the gutter, laughed, beat them and feared them. People made life a misery for others because they were ignorant. The Norms do it to themselves too, ignoring their injustice and pain because finding a solution to the big problem is too complicated. The One is supposed to be here to help Norms and Super-Humans alike, but so far all Alison had done is clean up their messes.
The car came up to what looked like an adobe wall. There was a gated entrance and from outside Alison could see the extensive grounds of the sanitarium. It had a grass lawn with benches and flowers. Set at the back was a two story building. It might have been an actual hospital at one point. A guard was sitting out front on a wood stool. He looked up from his magazine as the women approached.
“We need to speak to someone in charge,” Jess said to him.
“Visiting hours are over, young lady,” the man said from his seat.
“Do you recognize this uniform?” Jess said with venom in her voice. “I'm with
The One. I'm a Super-Human. We have full authority to access this facility and if you don't let us in we are going to get very mad. The last thing you want is a mad Super-Human. Now, please open the gate.”
The guard had been staring at The One logo on her uniform. He looked at Alison then back at Jess. For added effect, Fugen perched on her shoulder menacingly.
“I have to escort you in,” he said apologetically.
Jess didn’t respond. The man got up and unlocked the gate for them. He locked up behind him then showed them the way. Immediately after walking into the sanitarium, a nurse at the front desk began yelling at him. He tried to explain, and Jess let him take the verbal assault.
“This is taking too long,” Alison said. “Do you know how to read the language?”
“No,” Jess answered. “Fugen does all the translating.”
“Then he can find the girl?” Alison asked.
To answer her question, Fugen dropped to the ground and transformed. He stood on four legs with the face of a lion and the body of a bear. Fugen barked then sniffed the air. He barked again as he trotted down the hall. The guard and the nurse had watched the whole thing but were too shocked to do anything other than stare. Sniffing the doorways and corners Fugen led them to a door with a small window. Alison had been following close and was the first to look inside. She immediately grabbed the handle and shoved at the door.
“We need the key,” Alison said desperately and looked around.
“Alison,” Jess said. She peeked quickly into the window. “Alison, what's going on? Talk to me. I know you were a Lost One, right? Did they do this to you too?” Alison couldn't hear her. “Fugen, open the door,” she said to her familiar.
Again, Fugen transformed. This time he became a massive beast, bigger than a bear and ten times stronger. Without straining himself, Fugen dug his claws into the steel door and tore it out of the wall. Alison charged inside, grabbing the girl. She was small and curled up on a cot. Her black hair was knotted, and pieces had been ripped out. Alison held her as she stared blankly into space, a sliver of drool dripped down her cheek.
“That's a lot of Thorazine,” Jess said from the doorway. She found the hospital chart hanging on a nail and read her name. “Shruti Pandey.”
Alison's eyes glowed with anger. “Juvenile detention,” she said. “I robbed a bank to show my mom that I was different. I just wanted her to see me for a second. I know it was a mistake, but I was a kid and... Four years. Four years till The One found me. The kids beat me up because they knew I was different. The adults still didn't notice, even when I escaped.”
“That's how you got flagged by SHT?” Jess prompted.
“Yeah,” Alison went on, “I was with this girl. It was her idea to run, but when we got caught she blamed it all on me. Called me a freak. One of the hundreds of keywords SHT scans for. I used to pity the Norms. Now I'm beginning to hate them. I don’t want to be like the others in SHT. I don’t think I can do this, Jess.”
“I hear that,” Jess agreed. “Put in for a transfer. It's easy; I’ve done it a bunch of times.”
“It won't look good on my record,” Alison said. “I already messed up once to get posted out here. Not even two days and I want to leave.”
“Do you want to be a General or something?” Jess asked. Alison shook her head. “A Colonel?” Alison shook her head again. “Then why do you care about your career? All I'm looking for is a comfortable place in The One where I can spend the rest of my life. I'll keep hopping from department to department until I'm happy. It's not my job to please The One, and they know it. The One is here for us, to keep us safe and make us happy. Do whatever you want, they won’t stop you.”
“You think they'll let me take her with me back to America?” Alison rocked Shruti in her arms.
“It's worth a try,” Jess replied.
2006, Colorado
Inside the Administration building at the Colorado Complex, Porter shifted around in his desk chair. The room smelled like dust and the leather on his chair squeaked. He had been given the office seventeen years ago when he'd made Colonel. Since then he could count on his hand the number of times that he used the room. They hadn't even bothered to upgrade his computer because he was never there. The huge CRT monitor was covered in dust, and the once white keyboard was tan. Porter sat in here now to read a report that he didn't want to be seen reading.
“You're Pawn put in for a transfer,” Phillip Green said suddenly. He appeared in the corner smiling devilishly.
Porter wasn’t startled, but turned to him annoyed, “I'm going to start pulling a pistol and shooting every time you do that.”
Phillip laughed. “Private Cortez wants to come home already,” he said.
“I know,” Porter replied trying to read the report.
“You put a lot of faith in an eighteen-year-old,” Philip commented.
“It was a gamble. OSO thinks she has a secondary precognitive ability,” Porter informed him. “Cortez has a tendency to find chronological focal points; links to significant turns of events. I wish I would have caught her when she first came in. She has a lot of potential.”
“Are you saying this was fate? Maybe you both need a shrink?” Philip was rummaging through a filing cabinet. “Word from the top is they're putting her in for a psych-eval. Seems she’s not towing the company line and then there’s that Indian girl she refused to let go of.”
“Works for me,” Porter said offhandedly. “If I act now, it’ll draw attention. The evals and red tape will keep her on base and off duty. Afterwards, I can quietly put Cortez where I want.”
“My Rook is about to graduate,” Phillip said. “He asked me again about getting into OSO.”
This time Porter looked up from the report he was reading. “I hope you're not about to ask me to put a word in for him,” Porter said. “I like the kid enough, but you've screwed him up.”
“Admin is gonna stick him in R and R because that makes the most sense,” Phillip explained. “I've been trying to get someone into OSO.”
Porter sighed knowingly. “I'm waiting for the part where you ask for your favor, Flip,” he grumbled.
“If you’re right about that secondary skill, this girl Private Cortez has with her could be important,” Phillip said. “I have it on good authority that she's a hell of a telepath. She’s six years old, and the only people from The One she's dealt with are the two girls who found her. I can fiddle with the paperwork and get her transferred to you immediately. Your name won’t even come up. And if I can work it, you can get Private Cortez too.”
“And you want what?” Porter asked.
“The Board wants inside OSO,” Phillip said seriously. “The Rook is our only option. If you can’t do anything overt, then I need him placed so the right eyes can notice him. He'll do the rest.”
“You think everyone in Special Operations are chums?” Porter scoffed. “Getting him moved to OSO alone… And I already said I wasn't taking him on.” He tapped his fingers on the desk as he thought. Porter groaned and said, “OSO has an Ultra-secret test regarding the extreme range of Super-Human abilities. It's disturbing stuff, but it's essentially a proving ground for shadow operatives. Lately, they're having a problem keeping their test subjects alive. The kid might have an advantage there.”
“Sounds like a foot in the door,” Phillip said somberly. He sighed and said, “Sometimes I don't know who the villains are in this play.”
2008, China
The last two years in SHT hadn't done much for Jess's happiness. She had seen a number of partners come and go. Some of them were like Alison, who had too much heart for the work. Others became obsessed with finding The Lost Ones, much like Jess now. Every day she saw the atrocities of human nature, but she was compelled to help her fellow Super-Humans. She was ruled by the fear of missing one of these lost souls. It wasn't a splendid way to live. Nevertheless, she kept her ear to the ground following rumor after rumor.
Recently Jess had been working
on her own. SHT protocol was for her to have a companion, but it was too hard to get used to a person and then have them leave; whether it was due to depression or ambition. Her new attitude had gotten her reprimanded, threatened and even once called a Free Flight by superior officers. Jess would disappear on jaunts and wind up places she wasn't assigned. She did her best to stay in the same sector, Japan, Korea, but mainly in China.
The country was vast and overpopulated, making it the perfect breeding ground for The Lost Ones. The latest rumor had come from some dock workers.
They were talking about a ghost ship or perhaps it was a ship that had a ghost. Fugen had trouble deciphering between all the dialects. She found herself at a sailor's bar talking to a drunken man that kept trying to buy her a drink. His face was red from the alcohol, but it was almost hidden behind his weathered skin.
“...went to piss in the middle of the night,” the drunken man told his story. “And I was out on the deck. I don't know why I was there, maybe it was the spirits calling my name.” He took a long sip of beer. “I think that it was my time to die that night. The waves were rough, and one of them came at me from port side. The shrimp cages broke free, falling over me. Then something hit me, knocking me out of the way.” He drank some more and struggled to keep his head up. “I swear to you... I swear no one else was on the deck, and it wasn't the waves. There's a ghost on that boat. A guardian swooped down and saved my life.”
Fugen was in the shape of a monkey-like creature. He had been picking at a bowl of peanuts when the drunken man finished his story. His cackling laugh startled the sailor who took a swing at him. Fugen easily ducked.
“Where's your boat now?” Jess asked.
Absolute Power (Book 1): Origins Page 9