The New Wave

by E S Richards

  “I just wandered around the settlement for a bit, did some exploring. Then came back here to read.”

  “Well,” Cain replied finally settling down in the one chair in the room. “I wish I’d got to spend my afternoon lying around in bed. This farm work isn’t easy going you know.”

  “What sort of things do you do?”

  “Oh this and that. In the morning we...”

  Asher feigned interest as Cain began to tell him about his day but in reality his ears had switched off from the actual words coming out of his mouth. Instead Asher focused on Cain’s mind, which didn’t really involve him doing anything aside from staring at him, and tried to listen into his thoughts.

  Cyrus hadn’t really taught him how it worked so he didn’t know what he was trying to achieve, but when he had heard Cyrus’ thoughts earlier it had been so natural. With Cain Asher was going nowhere, and the older man was starting to look at him funnily.

  “You alright, Ash?”

  “Uh? Yeah, sorry,” Asher snapped his eyes away from Cain. “Just zoned out for a second there.”

  “Boring you am I?” Cain said with a laugh. “That’s alright, it’s certainly not the most interesting job I’ll give you that. Where’s that sister of yours got to, I’d quite fancy a shower myself before we go and eat.”

  “You can go if you want,” Asher quickly jumped on Cain leaving him alone for a second. Something didn’t feel right in his head and the fact that he couldn’t hear Cain’s thoughts only made him more confused. He needed a few minutes alone to try and sort himself out. If Cyrus didn’t think that Asher was listening in on Cain it wouldn’t be long before the council knew the truth and they were all kicked out.

  “All right little man,” Cain started pulling his boots back on slowly. “Don’t worry we’ll get off to eat soon.”

  “See you,” Asher called after Cain as he left and then breathed out a frustrated sigh. What was going on with his mutation? He had to make it work in some way or that would be the end of their time in the camp – Cyrus had sounded very serious about not trusting Cain and Asher needed to prove to him that his friend was safe to be around.

  The thought of going back into the dining room to get supper made him feel on edge. Cyrus would definitely be there and he would definitely be listening to Asher, and probably Cain and Zahyra as well. Although, Asher remembered Cyrus saying that he couldn’t read Cain’s entire mind, that Cain had managed to block him out somehow.

  Asher immediately knew that was what he had to do – but how? He already found it hard enough trying to concentrate on one thing let alone trying to get different parts of his mind to do different things simultaneously. Cain had an advantage in some way; he had been living with his mutation his entire life so he must know which part of his mind he must always focus on it. Asher was still learning, and while he knew Cain would likely be able to help him with that, he just wasn’t ready yet to tell everyone the truth.

  As the three of them did finally make their way out of their hut – new home, Asher cursed himself – he was concentrating extremely hard on keeping his thoughts to himself. So hard in fact that he noticed it immediately when the buzz of thoughts suddenly started off again in his head. The closer they got to the dining room the louder the thoughts got and after just a minute Asher could clearly hear what Zahyra and Cain were thinking right beside him.

  Zahyra was excited for her evening meal, whereas Cain’s thoughts were dulled somewhat as Cyrus had said earlier. He heard Zahyra’s name echoing around in Cain’s head and his own popped up occasionally too. Aside from that there were musings about the settlement, about the work he had been doing, but nothing Asher could hear in a fully formulated sentence like he did with everyone else.

  He wondered why his mutation had stopped for a while and now returned. Then as they turned the corner and walked into the dining room his eyes fell on Cyrus and he turned his mind off immediately, giving the older man nothing but static noise to listen to.

  It was very difficult trying to stop himself from thinking completely. Instead Asher focused his thoughts on what he was doing. Saying the names of the foods in his mind to himself as he filled up his plate for supper. He was relieved when Zahyra led them to an empty table at the back of the room, far away from Cyrus. He deliberately sat with his back to the man and relaxed for a moment, before a voice broke into his head.

  How’s it going Asher?

  Fine. Asher replied carefully, doing his best to appear normal. Cain is fine too. Listen for yourself, he’s not dangerous.

  He felt Cyrus’ presence leave his mind for a moment as the older man obviously focused on Cain. Asher did the same; relieved to hear Cain wasn’t thinking about anything in particular, more just concentrating on his meal and the conversations around him. Asher decided to do just that and ignored Cyrus’ further questions, engaging his sister about how her day had been and whether she was enjoying the work.

  They were one of the last groups of people to enter the dining room and so thankfully they weren’t sat with anyone else. Asher managed to tune out the voices in his head and carry out a normal conversation with Zahyra and Cain, neither of them seeming to suspect that anything about him had changed. He almost forgot about his Gen 6 mutation as they laughed and joked like old times, Cain openly teasing Zahyra about how hard she was finding the work – even though Asher knew Cain was feeling the same way.

  Goodnight Asher, make sure you keep listening.

  Asher turned in his seat slightly to see Cyrus walking out of the dining room and back out into the settlement. He bid farewell to the older man in his head and then relaxed slightly, finally loosening the control he had over his thoughts after he figured Cyrus had travelled far enough away.

  He knew in reality the man could still be just outside, but it was exhausting Asher having to concentrate so much and he needed to let his mind wander, just for a second. Thankfully, Cyrus’ voice remained out of his head.

  When the three of them had finally finished their food, Asher leaving only a small roll of bread on his plate they stood to make their way back to their new home. The dining room was almost completely empty, but Asher was surprised to see a huge amount of food still sitting out on the long table.

  As they carried their plates over to where they were told to leave them after meals Asher saw a woman enter and head towards the table of food. He watched in awe as she moved down the table, holding her hands out in front of her and freezing the food as she moved along.

  Everything she held her hands over gradually became covered in a layer of ice, preserving what was left behind after the meal. Looking down at his leftover bread roll he wondered whether he should take it over to her, allowing it to be saved for the next day. Then, right in front of his eyes a thin layer of ice started to form over the bread, encasing it like he had just watched the woman do.

  Asher’s eyes snapped up, curious whether the woman had moved over to him but she was definitely still on the other side of the room. Looking back at his bread roll the layer of ice grew thicker, finally surrounding the bread entirely and leaving it preserved for the next day.

  Panicking, Asher looked to Zahyra and Cain who were a few steps ahead of him. Everything had happened so suddenly neither of them had turned around to witness what he had done. In a flurry he set down his plate amongst the others, quietly knocking the bread to the floor so neither of them noticed it. There was a small cracking sound as it hit the ground and Asher coughed immediately, covering up the noise.

  The woman was almost finished with the table of food as they walked past her out of the dining room but Asher couldn’t help himself. He focused on another bread roll, one that the woman hadn’t yet reached and again watched as it began to freeze. He was definitely doing it. He was freezing things with his mind.

  When they got back to their hut Asher made excuses about being tired and moved off into the second room. He took his book with him, telling Zahyra he was going to continue reading and was thankful
when she didn’t argue or try to accompany him.

  As he sat holding the book in front of him however, Asher had no intention of reading. Instead he concentrated on it, trying to reproduce the thin layer of ice that he had made form around the bread rolls just minutes before. But try as he might Asher couldn’t create even a single water droplet. The book remained as it always had been in his hands and Asher breathed out heavily, the effort tiring him.

  He could still hear Zahyra and Cain’s faint voices carrying through from the other room so instead he tried to concentrate on their thoughts, see if he could listen in on what they were saying. Again he was met with silence, unable to grasp even the smallest thought. Defeated he leant back in the chair where he sat, confused by what was happening to him.

  When Cyrus had discovered Asher was telepathic the man had seemed so certain about that being Asher’s mutation. But if that was the case why couldn’t Asher hear other mutant’s thoughts all the time, and how had he managed to freeze things?

  Could it be possible that his Gen 6 mutation had given him two different mutations: freezing and telepathy. Asher thought that was probably a strong possibility. He was more advanced than just a normal telepath or a mutant that could freeze things. Maybe that was what made him a Gen 6. But then, why couldn’t he use his mutations all the time? He didn’t know whether he just had to learn how to control them better or whether there was another piece to the puzzle of his Gen 6 mutation that he didn’t yet understand.

  He wished he could speak to Zahyra and Cain about it, but he felt uneasy bringing more of his problems down on them. Cain needed to focus on himself for the time being, to make sure the three of them were safe in the warped settlement and Zahyra finally seemed happy.

  Asher couldn’t bear to force her to worry about him again, not after everything she had been through. He felt like her whole life since they had left their camp on that bus had revolved around worrying about him. Now that he was growing up, and his mutation too alongside him Asher knew he needed to take more responsibility for himself. Unfortunately that meant keeping secrets from her, but there was something inside him that was saying it was the right thing to do.

  His real worry in the warped settlement was Cyrus. Especially now that Asher believed he had two mutations. Undoubtedly that would make Cyrus reconsider him as a threat to the settlement and with Asher already struggling to control his thoughts before his second mutation appeared he worried whether he would be able to manage it the next time the older man was around.

  He realised that the best thing for it would be to avoid Cyrus completely. If he was far enough away from the man then maybe he wouldn’t be able to hear his thoughts. Asher just hoped that Cyrus wouldn’t linger around the school area again tomorrow, if that were the case he didn’t know what he would do.

  Yawning, Asher began to pull the cushions from the chair where he sat and lay them out on the floor. A blanket was still there from where Cain had slept the night before, himself and Zahyra sharing the bed the night they arrived. With his new mutations though Asher wanted to be alone, even if that just meant sleeping by himself.

  He curled up and tried not to think about anything, forcing all his thoughts to disappear behind the internal wall he had built and welcoming the nothingness he found instead. With that he finally succumbed to sleep, listening to the soft murmur of Cain and Zahyra’s voices that still carried through from the other room.

  Chapter 7 – Zahyra

  On their walk back to the farming area the next morning, Zahyra couldn’t stop thinking about Cain’s hands on her the night before. When they’d finally retired to bed she had noticed Asher asleep on the floor, meaning Cain got into the bed with her instead. It was the first time they’d ever technically shared a bed, simply sleeping next to one another on the ground not counting for Zahyra.

  Although nothing had officially happened between them, Zahyra had felt the tension all night long. It had taken her hours to get to sleep, feeling Cain’s breath on the back of her neck and the warmth of his hand as it rested on her hip. She had been cautious about making any movements for fear of waking him, so in reality she’d had a fairly terrible night’s sleep. But she wouldn’t swap it to feel well rested. Even just the proximity had set her desires burning.

  She wasn’t looking forward to another day of farm work. Apparently the harvest had just begun so their arrival was well timed; although all that meant to Zahyra was that there was more work than usual to be done. She wasn’t afraid of hard work, and enjoyed being able to exercise her muscles. It was just the monotony of the work that bored her. None of it was challenging or exciting, none of it made her eager to get to work in the morning.

  The only benefit was that Cain was working alongside her. Even without saying anything he managed to brighten her day, and Asher had said he’d come and spend his afternoon with them once his school was finished so that was something to look forward to as well.

  Although yesterday they had walked back down to the dining room for lunch, they’d been told that normally the farm workers simply ate where they were instead – the abundance of food around them meaning they didn’t need to travel to eat. Zahyra had invited Asher to eat with them as well, but he had decided to eat with his classmates and then come and join them after.

  It put a smile on Zahyra’s face to know that Asher was settling into the warped settlement. She knew that if he hadn’t been comfortable here she wouldn’t have been either, so to hear him making friends and going exploring brought her some happiness.

  She was glad too that he hadn’t mentioned his Gen 6 mutation since they’d arrived. He had seemed very anxious about it on their journey to the settlement so Zahyra figured he must at least be distracted by the new life enough to keep his mind off it. She knew if it was still bothering him he would speak to her, which helped limit the level of worry she carried.

  Cain had swiftly become her main concern for their future. He had told her yesterday while he worked that he felt uneasy about several of the settlement’s mutants. He had apparently noticed people staring at him, watching his every move. Zahyra had tried to convince him that it was just because they were new arrivals and he was marked as a Gen 4 but Cain was more suspicious than her. He wondered whether mutants within the settlement could possibly know about their past, about where they’d come from. Zahyra didn’t think it was likely but she agreed with Cain that they shouldn’t let their guard down just yet.

  As the two of them picked up their positions in the harvest line, each person either pulling fruit from the plants or digging down for what grew under the soil she watched Cain work. His muscles rippled as he drove his shovel into the ground, causing the fabric of his t-shirt to stretch taught across his chest.

  They had quickly lost the safe haven uniforms they had both worn into the warped settlement. They still had them, kept with their other meagre possessions in their new hut, but the council had suggested they find some old clothes in the marketplace and try to blend in a little better. They had traded the old cooking pot Cain still had for new outfits, having very little else to their name that they were willing to part with.

  As Zahyra’s mind wandered while she worked she thought more about everything that had led to the three of them finding a home in the warped settlement. She still found it odd to think that no longer than a month had passed since she had been back in her home camp with her mother and Asher. A lump still formed in her throat when she thought of her mother. How she longed she could have bid her a proper goodbye when they parted ways, neither of them knowing how different their journey to the safe haven would be, or indeed what it would be like when they got there.

  Although all she knew for a fact about her mother was that she’d never made it to the safe haven, Zahyra had little hope left that she was still alive. She had barely lasted two days out in the desert herself without nearly dying and she almost certainly would have had it not been for Cain rescuing her.

  Back at Cain’s small cabin Zahyra
had been so confused about what the future would hold for her. She had never imagined her life would take the route that it had. That she and Cain would become so close, so inseparable. She remembered how he had been when she’d first met him. Almost unable to string a full sentence together from several years spent isolated from society. She was so glad Cain had found her, not only because he saved her, but also because in a way, Zahyra felt that she had saved Cain as well. At least, saved him from a life of solitary, a life without anyone by his side.

  Although, she wasn’t surprised he had been that way. The mutant camp where Asher had been taken – and where Cain had been taken some years earlier – continued to haunt Zahyra. Asher still hadn’t opened up to her about what had happened to him during his time there and she was beginning to wonder whether he ever would. Guaranteed they hadn’t really had the opportune moment to sit down and talk about it, but she had thought he would have wanted to share something from his time there with her by now.

  It had definitely changed Asher though, that much was obvious. He was hardly anything like the boy she had grown up with now. Of course, there were still moments when he acted like a child, acted his age. But more often than not Zahyra could now see it in his eyes that he was different.

  She couldn’t blame him, after everything he’d been through both at the mutant camp and in the safe haven, she just hated everyone who had forced him to change so much. She hated that her brother had been taken away from her in some way.

  The sting of the safe haven was still fresh in Zahyra’s mind as she worked. That place had taken more from her than she ever thought possible, on both an emotional and physical level. In a very small way she was glad for her time there, if only for what she had been able to learn about the safe haven and the rest of the world. But she would trade back that knowledge in a heartbeat if it meant she could forget it all.